Charlotte
by Seaheeler
Summary: Life rarely turns out as planned...
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone,

I'm back! Did you miss me hahaha.

Here's another one of my crazy ramblings!

This story takes place 5ish years after the finale. Jim had proposed to Kate but she didn't have second thoughts but then he gets killed in the explosion, Swain wasn't on the boat. Kate and Mike get together after Jim was killed but it didn't work out. I think that about sums it up, I don't want to give away too much!

The usual disclaimer – I didn't create the characters nor do I own them so please don't sue!

Hope you enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated! Xx

Charlotte  
Chapter 1

Kate sat at her desk and let out a loud sigh, it had been a long day. Dealing with people was so exhausting, she never thought that working at Navcom would be more tiring than being out at sea. She had been asked to accept this position by Fleet Command, how was she supposed to say no? Having to deal with the media and being the "face" of the Navy was never something she saw in her career, but she was good at it, people responded to her, trusted her. She sat back in her chair and looked around her office and laughed to herself, it was 4 times bigger than her old cabin and yet didn't feel as comfortable. She was startled as her door flung open, a little girl with blonde pigtails bounced towards her.

"Mummy!"

Her exhaustion was forgotten as she saw her daughter's face. She knelt down and she ran into her arms.

"Hi baby girl! Did you have fun at kindy?"

The little girl smiled and nodded, her piercing green eyes sparkled, they were mirror image of her mothers. Kate sat back in her chair and she climbed into her lap.

"Look, I drew a picture..."

She waived it in front of Kate's face, Kate reached out and placed the picture on her desk. The girl's tiny fingers pointed to the characters on the page.

"There's you, me and Daddy!"

Kate's expression was froze, like the picture put her in put her into a trance. The little girl's lip quivered, threatening to turn into a meltdown.

"Don't you like my picture?"

Kate snapped back to reality and put on her best "Mummy" voice.

"Of course I do sweetie! It's going straight on the fridge when we get home!"

There was a knock on the door, Mike popped his head in. The little girl spun round and shrieked with excitement.

"Daddy! I missed you!"

Mike entered the office, she sprinted up to him and leapt into his arms, he caught her mid jump.

"I've missed you too Charlie!"

She pointed to Kate's desk.

"Look what I drew!

Mike carried her over to Kate's desk and sat her down next to the picture. He picked it up and nodded. Charlie crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't think Mummy likes it very much!"

Mike smirked and looked in Kate's direction.

"I'm sure that's not true! Mummy never was a good judge of art anyway!"

He put her back down on the floor and knelt next to her.

"Hey, why don't you see if Auntie Max is in her office?"

Charlie's eyes lit up, she nodded and ran out the office. She yelled at the top of her voice.

"Auntie Maaaaax!? Where are you?"

Mike cringed and poked his head out of Kate's office.

"Charlotte! Quietly!"

She turned around and put her finger up to her lips, she tiptoed to Maxine's office. Mike laughed and sat down at Kate's desk.

"She's definitely your daughter!"

Mike noticed that she hadn't looked up at him once, he felt some tension, he was instantly concerned. Kate busied herself with paperwork, she could feel his eyes on her. He cleared his throat, hoping she would pay attention.

"So umm, how are things Kate?"

Kate's eyes glanced up for a second and then returned to the notes in front of her, she shrugged.

"You know, press release here, statement there! Saving everyone's asses! The usual!"

He was surprised when she took this posting years ago but it all made sense 6 months in when he saw her expanding stomach.

Mike could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk but they needed to communicate better, for Charlotte's sake. He lent on the desk bringing his face closer to hers.

"It feels like I haven't seen you for ages!"

Kate could smell his cologne, he smelt good. She closed her eyes and did the only thing should could think of to get him to move away, she had a go at him.

"Yeah well, you're always out at sea..."

Mike couldn't understand why she was being prickly, sure they weren't best friends but she was normally more civil.

"Kate..."

Kate shivered at the way he said her name, she always fell for his "concerned" tone, she had to make it stop.

"Mike, I don't have time to chit chat, I've got work to do!"

Mike knew there was something bothering her, he couldn't work out if it was him or work but he knew better than to push.

"Ok, well I'll take Charlie back to mine and you can pick her up later?"

Kate didn't look up from her paperwork.

"Sounds good, bye."

An hour or so later Kate had finished her work, she turned off her office lights, she was one of the last to leave. She headed to the underground car park, as she got out of the elevator a chill ran down her spine. She stopped before getting in her car, it felt like something or someone was with her, watching her. She shook her head and quickly got in the car, she sat there feeling silly, it had been a long day she was probably just exhausted.

Kate drove to Mike's house and got out the car. She heard a dog bark, she looked around, there was that strange feeling again. She knocked on the door and let herself in.

"Hello? Where is everyone?"

Charlie called out.

"We're in the kitchen making pizzas!"

Kate walked into the kitchen and smiled, Mike and Charlie were standing at the kitchen bench, Charlie on her step stool. They were wearing aprons that said "Masterchef" and "Juniorchef", it melted her heart. Mike looked up and brushed his hands on his apron.

"Hey! You looked like you had a rough day so I thought I'd make us dinner."

He poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her.

"Your usual..."

She smiled wearily.

"Thanks!"

She felt bad about being so short with Mike earlier, she had been so rude and yet here he was making dinner and he had bought her favourite wine. He could be so frustrating, in some ways he was so considerate but then so selfish at the same time, both of them could be so hot and cold with each other. She sat down at the kitchen bench and watched Mike and Charlie attempt to roll out the dough, she laughed.

"You'd better stick to your day job Flynn!"

A couple of hours later they had finished eating, Kate threw her crust back on to the plate.

"I'm stuffed! Thanks for this!"

Mike poured them another glass.

"Don't mention it, you know I'm happy to do this for both of you when I'm on shore leave!"

Kate knew he meant well and she did appreciate it, but the line between them was getting blurry and it made her nervous.

"Yeah I know, I just don't want her to get the wrong impression..."

They looked over to Charlie, she was asleep in the armchair cuddling her teddy bear. Mike turned his attention back to Kate, she was still staring at Charlie.

"Kate, is everything ok? Today at Navcom, something wasn't right..."

She didn't really want to discuss this with Mike, but he was the only one who might understand how she was feeling.

"It was the picture..."

Mike frowned, not understanding.

"What? The one Charlie drew?"

Kate nodded and took a sip of her wine.

"Mike, sometimes I feel like..."

Mike sighed, he knew what she was going to say. He always knew this was going to be hard but when they broke up it got harder. He put his hand on hers trying to reassure her.

"I know Kate."

She didn't want to get emotional in front of him but he knew her, he could see she was struggling, he moved closer and hugged her.

"Kate, don't do this to yourself... it's fine, we're fine!"

Kate rested her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and wished they could have made things work, it would have been so much easier. Their moment was interrupted by a crashing noise outside, it startled them and woke Charlie up. They ran to the door, Mike cautiously opened it, he saw someone running down the street. He shut the door, Kate was holding Charlie, she looked petrified.

"What was it?"

Mike shook his head and grinned.

"I think a runner just ran into a wheelie bin."

Charlie burst out laughing, Kate tickled her tummy.

"Well, we should probably get going."

Charlie started to thrash around in objection.

"No Mummy! I want to stay here!"

Kate put her down on the floor and gave her a stern look.

"Charlotte J McGregor, we've talked about this!"

Charlie put her hands on her hips, Mike couldn't help but laugh.

"She looks like you when you don't get your way!"

Kate shot disapproving look at Mike and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't encourage her Mike!"

Mike laughed harder, he put his hand over his mouth to try and muffle his laugh.

"I'm sorry Kate, but c'mon!"

He looked at Kate then at Charlie, their poses were the same and the look on their faces were the same. Kate rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm, he composed himself.

"Look, I'm on shore leave for a few days, I can have her if you like!"

Charlie grabbed Mike's hand and then Kate's hand.

"We can all have a sleep over!"

She inhaled slowly and closed her eyes, this is exactly what she was afraid of.

"See what you've done!"

Mike gave her an unsympathetic shrug.

"I do have a spare room!"

Kate looked at the pleading look on Charlie's face and gave in, it was late and she didn't have to go into the office tomorrow, she sighed and nodded. Charlie screamed with delight.

"Yay, sleep over!"

Kate slept in the spare bed with Charlie. Charlie kept tossing and turning and kicking her. Kate threw back the blanket in frustration and let out a growl. She got up and turned on the light, Charlie was fast asleep and laying diagonally across the bed. She sighed and tucked her back in, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She walked into Mike's room, she slowly moved back the covers and paused, this was definitely crossing the line but she was too tired to think about the consequences and slipped into his bed.

The next morning Charlie bound into Mike's room, she leapt on the bed and started jumping.

"Wake up, wake up!"

Mike sat up startled, he glanced at Kate lying next to him and smiled. He picked up Charlie and covered her mouth.

"Shhh, Mummy needs her sleep! Why don't we go and make her breakfast?"

Charlie nodded and ran out of the room. Mike pulled the blanket back over Kate and brushed the stray hairs out of her face. He watched her for a second and then went to the kitchen.

A little while later Kate awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs and coffee. She got out of bed and put on a pair of Mike's track pants. She made her way out to the kitchen, Charlie spotted her first.

"Mummy's up!"

Kate walked over to the bench and sat rubbing her eyes.

"2 meals cooked for me in 12 hours aren't I lucky?"

Mike smiled as he served breakfast, he slid her a glass of juice across the counter.

"Just like old times hey?"

Kate pretended she didn't hear him and began to eat her food. A million thoughts rushed through her head, it was too much, she had to get out of there before her feelings overflowed into actions. She shoved a few more mouthfuls into her mouth.

"Well, I've got some errands to run!"

Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and put on an angry face.

"Boring! Can I stay with Daddy?"

Kate looked at Mike, he nodded.

"That's fine Kate, I'm just at home today catching up on washing and things, we can hang out and I can drop her off later."

Kate got up and grabbed her hand bag.

"Thanks!"

She was about to head out the door when Mike called out to her.

"Ah, you may want to get changed first!"

Kate looked down, she was in her T-shirt and Mike's pants, she and blushed and ran back into the bedroom and got changed.

Later that afternoon Kate walked back into her house and chucked her bag on the counter, she looked at her watch and was surprised that she had finished in so little time. She loved Charlie so much but it took double the time to do simple errands with her in tow. She was appreciative that Mike could help out, she had no family here, he didn't either and all their friends were in the Navy, babysitters were hard to come by.  
Kate sat on her couch and got out her diary, she started to tick things off her list.  
She sat there for a moment and looked around, her house was eerily quiet. She felt that weird feeling again, a shiver went down her spine. She got up and wrapped her arms around herself, she opened up her curtains to let some natural light in. A pot plant was knocked over on the deck, she went out and straightened it. She then walked to the front door and opened it, she looked both ways outside and she shook her head.

"Get a grip Kate!"

She shut the door, a floor board creaked behind her, she froze as she heard a voice.

"Talking to yourself McGregor? You know that's the first sign of madness right?"

She spun round and saw a figure standing in her lounge room, he walked towards her and but stopped as he saw the petrified look on her face.

"Kate! Please don't be afraid!"

She wanted to scream but couldn't, her body was frozen and her eyes fixed on the person in front of her. She could hear her own heart beat, she managed to blink, she tried to refocus on the figure standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to try and speak, it came out as a whisper.

"Jim?"

He stood there admiring her on the verge of tears, it had been nearly 5 years since he had laid eyes on the love of his life. He smiled as tears overflowed and rolled down his cheeks.

"Hi Smudge..."

End of part one. Xx


	2. Chapter 2

Hey people!

Sorry for the short first chapter but here's a longer chapter 2.

My usual warning for people who are new to my fics, they're normally pretty dramatic, some even farfetched but that's half the fun of writing them. I don't pretend to be an expert in naval or medical procedure, I try and do some research but I'm sorry if I get it wrong or offend people with my errors.

Disclaimer: I didn't create the characters, nor do I own them.

A shout out to my loyal reviewers, thanks so much, it's always appreciated. You guys keep me writing.

To Little Rose, I promise all your questions will be answered in the next few chapters.

On with the show...

From Chapter 1

She wanted to scream but couldn't, her body was frozen and her eyes fixed on the person in front of her. She could hear her own heart beat, she managed to blink, she tried to refocus on the figure standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to try and speak, it came out as a whisper.

"Jim?"

He stood there admiring her on the verge of tears, it had been nearly 5 years since he had laid eyes on the love of his life. He smiled as tears overflowed and rolled down his cheeks.

"Hi Smudge..."

Charlotte

Chapter 2

Kate was in shock, she could barley string a sentence together.

"How... you're..."

They stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity. Jim stepped towards her, Kate's instincts kicked in and she stepped back. He looked hurt, he never thought that she would be afraid of him.

"I'm sorry Katie! I didn't mean to scare you!"

Kate still couldn't comprehend that it was Jim standing in front of her. She side stepped him rubbing her eyes making sure her they weren't deceiving her.

"How are you alive?!"

She walked around the room keeping some distance between them, Jim attempted to get closer to her.

"I had to go away, my life, your life was in danger, I had no choice."

He pleaded with her hoping she would understand, Kate stopped moving and glared at him with an icy look.

"What are you talking about?!"

Jim walked towards her, he wanted to hug her, even just touch her for a second.

"Madelaine, she leaked my identity, she knew you guys were on to her, they wanted me dead and anyone that was important to me. If I was gone you were safe, so we came up with a plan to fake my death."

Kate could feel her shock wear off and her anger rise.

"How could you not tell me!? This is bullshit! I watched that boat explode, do you know what that did too me?"

He tried to reason with her.

"You've got no idea how sorry I am."

He reached out to touch her arm, she snatched it away. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, she was feeling so many things. She closed her eyes to try and steady her mind, she took a few deep breaths in. It wasn't working, she couldn't calm herself, she had to yell.

"Sorry?! I watched you die and you're sorry?"

Jim didn't have a response, he had hoped it wasn't going to be this way, he had dreamt of this moment for years, he wasn't letting her go without a fight.

Kate's breathing became erratic, her heart was beating so fast it hurt. He dared to meet her gaze.

"You have to know I thought about you every day!"

Kate was near the point of hysteria, she threw her hands in the air out of frustration.

"And you didn't think I thought about you? I looked at your grandmother's ring every day for a year before I gave it back to your mum! And don't get me started about your family, they still wanted me to be a part of it, they were so lovely! But I couldn't do it Jim, it was too hard, I felt like a total bitch!"

Kate thought she was going to hyperventilate she sat on the couch and clutched her chest. He sat next to her, it hurt him to see her in so much pain, he wanted to hold her, kiss her, make her feel better.

"Katie..."

Kate put her head in her hands, she sat there for a few minutes thinking, she looked up at him and shot him an inquisitive look.

"Wait a minute, that cell was dissolved over 12 months ago!"

Jim looked away and stared out the window, he knew she would figure it out.

"Yeah, I had to wait 6 months before I could come back..."

Her voice began to get louder.

"And the other 6 months?"

Jim couldn't look her in the eye, he could feel her glare burn in to him. His silence made her feel more enraged, he could have come back 6 months ago but didn't. How could she trust him again after he disappeared for 5 years?

They sat there in silence, she glanced at him periodically trying to work through it in her mind. He seemed like the same genuine person she had loved but 5 years was a long time, people change, things change, she was the perfect example of that. She needed to compose herself enough to get an explanation.

"Why Jim..."

He looked down at her hand resting on the couch, he slowly slid his hand over and touched the tip of her fingers. She flinched but returned her hand slightly touching his, she had to check that he was real. Jim looked up and smiled slightly.

"Please understand that I did this to protect you, if I hadn't disappeared and something happened to you I would never forgive myself. They were ruthless, you saw that with your own eyes, their threats were real. I wasn't going to take any chances, please, just put yourself in my shoes, what would you have done?"

Kate sighed, she probably would have done the same, but she wasn't ready to admit that to him just yet.

"So, where were you?"

Jim looked at her, then at the floor, she had every right to ask but he was scared of how she would perceive him. It was a dark period of time for him, a time he'd rather forget. Kate noticed his hesitation, his demeanour changed, it was like he shrunk a little, he looked like a child who was about to be disciplined. She sensed there was something wrong, as mad as she was she wanted to let him know that he was in a safe space. She sighed and hovered her hand over his knee, she lowered it and gave it a small squeeze trying to encourage him. They locked eyes for a moment, she looked away and got up, she grabbed a bottle from the liquor cabinet and poured him a glass.

"If it's too..."

He shook his head as he swallowed the glass. Kate didn't hear her phone beep in her bag as she was too distracted, I was a message from Mike. "On our way." Jim exhaled slowly.

"I want to be able to tell you, I should be able to tell you, I just don't want you to see me the way others did..."

Kate didn't know what to say, she was a little concerned, a little nervous for what he was about to say.

"Jim, I don't understand, why would I..."

He took a deep breath in.

"For the first year or so I wasn't in a good place. I was angry, angry at everyone. Madelaine, my job, my superiors, the government..."

Kate nodded slightly, she understood.

"Well under the circumstances..."

Jim closed his eyes and interrupted.

"No Kate, I barely recognised myself. I lashed out at everyone every chance I could get. I put so many holes in the walls of my first apartment they made me move out. I wasn't myself, I would have been ashamed for you to see me like that."

Kate tried to not look concerned, maybe he wasn't the same person, suddenly she wasn't angry, she was hurting for him. His eyes met hers, he could tell immediately that she was uncomfortable. He didn't want to scare her but she had asked and opened the flood gates.

"And worst of all, I was angry at you..."

Kate was taken aback for a moment.

"What?"

Jim got up and paced around the room.

"You need to understand the state of mind I was in. It sounds stupid now but I was mad at you because I felt so much for you. I thought that if I didn't have you in my life I wouldn't have been losing so much, that it wouldn't have been so hard to leave."

Kate's heart broke a little, she knew he would never lie about something like that.

"And now?"

He sat back down and clasped his hands together.

"It was a reaction to the situation, I got some help and had started to deal with the life I was handed. I had to accept my fate and move on with my life, but I never stopped thinking of you. The hardest part was that I was forgetting you, what you're touch felt like, how you smelt, the sound of your voice was fading. I was told that I needed to forget you and that was something that I wasn't willing to do."

A small smiled crept across his face.

"And then one day, maybe 18 months later, I was in Darwin and I turned on the TV and there you were. You were doing a press release about new ship building contracts. I had secretly kept some photos of you but it was your voice, it changed me completely. I had been living the life that had been created for me but with no real purpose, but at that moment I knew that I needed my old life back, I had to come back, come back to you!"

He moved closer.

"I spent every day trying to find every last person involved in that ring so I could bring them down and return to my previous life. I was moved a lot as I was constantly in trouble for breaking security protocol but I didn't care. What were they going to do? Kick me out of protection? Then finally the day came, there had been no action or chatter about the ring for 12 months. I appealed to return to my old identity, they eventually gave in. I was lectured every day for months on all the risks of returning, but I didn't care. I had to wait another 6 months just to be sure but then I would be free, free to come back."

The smile from Jim's face disappeared. Kate was puzzled by his sudden expression change.

"Jim?"

"I was all ready, my previous life had been wrapped up and I was at the airport. I had someone check, you were still in Cairns at Navcom and as far as anyone could tell you weren't married. It was all happening, falling into place, I stood at the gate but I couldn't get on the plane. All these thoughts hit me, what if you hated me, what if you were with someone and you were happy. It would have broken me and I didn't know how I would react, I didn't want to become that awful person again. I started to feel sick, I woke up in the hospital, apparently I had a panic attack at the airport."

Tears welled in Kate's eyes, they overflowed and rolled down her cheeks. It was like a switch had been flipped, she remembered how happy they were together, how happy he made her feel. Jim gently wiped her tears away and let out a half hearted chuckle.

"Don't cry Smudge, you're voice brought me back to life, I don't know what would have happened if I didn't see you on TV that day, and well, the story has a happy ending, doesn't it?"

She cupped his face with her hands, he closed his eyes trying to savour her touch.

"I understand Jim, I could never imagine what you went through but you can't just come back here after 5 years and expect it to be all the same. It doesn't work like that, my life has changed and no matter how much I loved you..."

A distressed expression overcame his face.

"Loved?!"

She realised what she had implied, she closed her eyes trying once again to settle her mind.

"You were dead Jim..."

Jim knew there was always a chance that she had moved on but he had to know who had replaced him, although he had a fairly good idea of who it was. He couldn't look at her and say his name, he stood up looked out the window.

"Mike?"

Kate kept silent, Jim knew if he turned around to see her face he'd be able to tell if it was true or not. He took a deep breath in a spun round, she looked guilty, he knew immediately what that meant.

"So, you and Mike are..."

Kate shook her head.

"No, we were for a bit after, but it still didn't work."

He was suddenly relieved, there was a chance. She saw his change expression.

"That doesn't mean... oh my god Jim, I don't know whether to hit you or hug you!"

She clenched her fists and let out a frustrated cry.

Jim had a grin on his face, he knew he was winning her over, he couldn't help it, he felt so much joy. Kate walked up to him trying to hide her grin, his smile always made her smile, she punched him on the arm.

"Don't you smile at me!"

Jim slowly reached up and brushed his hand over her face, he expected her to finch or pull away but she leant into it. They stood there, their eyes locked on each others.

"Please believe me when I say it was the only choice. I am so sorry, I really did think about you every day! I tried to get updates on you but Witsec wouldn't allow it after the first few months, they said it would endanger you and I couldn't risk that!"

They sat back on the couch, he slowly moved his hand towards hers, she intertwined her hand with his. Her heart skipped a beat as he turned and smiled at her, something was still there.

She heard a key in the front door and jumped up realising who was about to come through the door.

"Shit..."

Charlie skipped into the house but stopped when she saw the strange man standing with her mum. Mike struggled to get the key out of the lock.

"Kate, I told you to get some WD-40 for this bloody..."

He looked up and froze.

"Lock..."

Jim stood up, Mike yanked the key out of the lock.

"Jim?!"

Kate rushed over to Mike not knowing how he was going to react.

"Mike..."

Mike looked at Jim and then her.

"Umm, Kate?!"

She put a hand on his arm and spoke calmly.

"Mike, yes, Jim's alive..."

Mike shook his head in disbelief.

"What the fu..."

Mike remembered Charlie was in the room.

"Fudge..."

Charlie laughed, Mike stared at Jim from across the room, his look was unforgiving and mean. He stormed over to him, Kate ran after him.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know what she went through?"

Mike looked like he was about to launch at him, Kate had a firm grip on his arm.

"Mike, it's ok..."

Mike looked at Kate, he was amazed that she was so calm. Kate felt a sense of Déjà vu, she laughed in her head, once again she had to defend her relationship with Jim.

"Mike, we've talked, can you just leave it for now, please..."

She glanced down at Charlie, she didn't want Mike to lose it in front of her, he gave her a slight nod.

Jim wasn't expecting a warm welcome from Mike but he at least thought he would be glad he was alive, he mimicked their first conversation.

"Yeah, nice to see you're not dead Jim, yeah good to see you too Mike..."

Charlie ran over to Kate and jumped into her arms.

"Mummy, who's this?"

Jim looked Charlie and smiled, he was glad Kate had started a family, he knew deep down she wanted children. Kate walked over to Jim carrying Charlie, she tugged on Jim's shirt.

"You're tall! Who are you?"

Jim laughed.

"I'm Jim and who are you?"

Charlie looked at Kate for permission, she nodded.

"I'm Charlotte McGregor!"

Jim shook her little hand.

"Pleased to meet you Charlotte."

She gave him a cheesy grin.

"You can call me Charlie, I only get called Charlotte when I'm in trouble!"

He nodded.

"Ok, Charlie it is then..."

Kate put her down.

"Sweetie, why don't you go and put your stuff away?"

"Ok!"

She grabbed her bag and went to her room, Jim watched her run off.

"Kate, she's so cute! A mini you!"

Mike stood there bewildered at the normalcy of the conversation in front of him.

"Seriously, so you're all just fine now?"

Kate smiled nervously at Mike.

"Mike! We should be glad he's ok yeah?"

Kate didn't want Jim to have to explain it again, well not right now anyway. Mike chucked his hands in the air out of utter confusion.

"Yeah err, well I guess I'll catch up with you later?"

He turned to leave shaking his head, he paused for a moment and turned back and grabbed Kate by her arm.

"Walk me out Kate!"

She rolled her eyes and followed him to the door. He whispered in her ear.

"Just think about what's you're doing, he's been gone for 5 years Kate!"

Kate frowned.

"Mike, I'm not..."

He squeezed her arm and left, she shut the door.

"So umm, wine?! I think we need wine!"

They sat on the couch and she poured them a glass. Jim still couldn't stop staring at her, she looked out the corner of her eye as he sat there with a big grin on his face.

"You haven't changed a bit Katie, still just as beautiful as the day I met you!"

She leant back into the couch held up her glass to cover her smirked, he still had that charm. She forced an annoyed look on her face.

"Don't try and compliment your way out of this! I'm still a bit pissed!"

He laughed.

"But less than before right?"

Charlie came running out and leapt on to the couch in between them, she turned her attention to Jim.

"Are you in the Navy like Mummy?"

Jim shook his head.

"No, I'm in the SAS."

Charlie scrunched up her face not knowing what that was.

"Ahh, it's kind of like the Navy but with no boats..."

Charlie kept staring at him with a blank look. He thought for a moment, how was he supposed to explain, he decided to change the subject.

"So, how old are you?"

Charlie shoved her hand in front of Jim's face.

"4 and a bit."

Kate bent down one of Charlie's fingers.

"That's 4 hunny, she'll be 5 next month."

She turned to Kate.

"Can I watch Moana?"

Kate nodded.

"Quietly though!"

She rolled off the couch and turned on the TV.

They sat there and watched her stare at the TV. Kate turned her body towards Jim, she desperately wanted to stay mad at him but she couldn't, she was so happy he was alive. A thought suddenly popped into her head, they were engaged before he left, did this mean they were still engaged?

Jim glanced at her and laughed, Kate took another sip of her wine and looked at him over her glass.

"What?"

He tapped her on the head.

"I know you Kate McGregor! Your face gives you away. You've just remembered that we were engaged and you're wondering what this all means?

Kate cursed in her mind, damn him, he did know her so well. She tried not to confirm that he was right.

"I guess that's one of my questions..."

Jim laughed at her annoyance.

"Look, we have lost so much time already, I'm not gonna beat around the bush, I want to be with you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you!"

Kate took another large sip of her wine and raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know I'm not already with someone else? Maybe your intel was wrong..."

Jim looked around checking for any evidence of another man in her life, she playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"Have you been spying on me? Was that you out the front of Mike's house last night?"

Jim looked utterly confused.

"Ah, no idea what you're talking about Kate..."

Kate shook her head.

"Never mind then..."

Jim put a hand on her knee.

"Is there someone else?"

Kate shook her head and looked at Charlie.

"Jim, things are so much more complicated now."

She placed a hand on his, she wanted him to know it wasn't a "no" but it wasn't that simple to say yes either. He placed his other hand on top of hers.

"It's only complicated if we make it complicated..."

Kate knew he wasn't going to give in.

"Jim, I know there's something still here but..."

She knew he was a good guy but she had to think of Charlie.

"But Jim, this is a lot..."

She glanced over at Charlie, she had spun round and was now staring at them. Kate moved her hand away.

"Can we finish this later?"

Jim nodded, he didn't want to push her, he'd over whelmed her enough for one day. He got off the couch and sat on the floor with Charlie.

"What's this movie?"

Charlie jumped into his lap.

"Moana! It's my favourite!"

Jim watched the TV for a moment.

"Oh yeah, the one with the silly chicken!"

He made a goofy face and made a chicken noise, Charlie giggled.

"Have you seen this? But you're a grown up!"

He laughed.

"What? Grownups can't watch cartoons?"

She laughed and began to sing the theme song.

"See line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me... she loves the sea just like Mummy and Daddy..."

Jim looked back at Kate, he had assumed that Mike was the father but a small part of him hoped it wasn't. He moved Charlie back on to the floor, she turned her attention back to the TV. Jim sat back next to Kate.

"So, Mike's still at sea then?"

Kate gave him a look to say "really?" Jim laughed, he shouldn't have asked.

"Yeah ok, stupid question, so that must be hard on you then?"

Kate shrugged, she didn't want to bad mouth Mike, he had done a lot for them. She looked at Charlie.

"She misses him when he's away but when he's home he'll try and spend as much time with her as possible. But yeah, babysitters are hard to come by, Maxine helps out if she can!"

"Well, you can add my name to the list!"

Kate raised an eyebrow doubting his ability, he looked hurt.

"Hey, I've got 7 nieces and nephews, I am, well was, the number 1 favourite Uncle!"

Kate smiled, she could see Jim with kids, after all he was a big kid at heart. Jim got up from the couch.

"Well I'd better get going, my stuff arrives today..."

Kate put her glass down and looked at him quizzically.

"Stuff?"

He picked up his jacked and swung it over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I bought a house here, actually just a few streets over..."

Kate was stunned.

"Oh, right so you're just moving here?"

Jim shrugged pretending like it wasn't a big deal. Kate rolled her eyes.

"And you're just so casual about buying a house."

Jim laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I told you Kate, I'm not going anywhere..."

Jim waived at Charlie.

"Bye Charlie!"

Charlie jumped up and waived.

"Bye Jim!"

Jim left, Kate flopped back on to the couch and laughed to herself.

"What just happened?"

Charlie heard her and jumped on the couch.

"What Mummy?"

Kate pulled Charlie in for a hug.

"Nothing Sweetie, Mummy's just trying to think..."

Charlie laid her head on Kate's shoulder.

"Mummy, I miss Daddy!"

"Already?"

She nodded.

"He's gone a lot!"

She squeezed her tight.

"Ok, I'll give him a call, maybe he can make us dinner again huh?"

She picked up her phone.

An hour later Mike arrived with multiple bags of shopping, he struggled to get in the door, Kate ran over to assist him.

"What's all this?"

He plonked the bags on the kitchen bench.

"Kate, I know you'd have nothing in the cupboard!"

Charlie was still watching Moana. They sat at the kitchen bench, both avoiding the obvious topic but Mike had to know what they had discussed.

"So, Jim?"

Kate nodded and avoided his glare.

"Yeah, I still can't believe it!"

He knew she didn't want to go into all the details, Jim had never been a pleasant topic between them.

"Kate..."

He cringed, it came out more judgemental than he meant. Kate put her hand up to stop him.

"Mike, I don't know..."

"You didn't even know what I was going to ask..."

Kate walked up to him and stood close.

"I know exactly what you were going to ask or rather where the question was heading and the answer is 'I don't know'. Mike, you remember what you were like when Jim was around and I know we had some unresolved feelings but we can't keep doing this. I know that I keep having these thoughts and moments but we tried to make this work multiple times, we need to let it go for everyone's sake."

Mike looked at Charlie then at Kate.

"I know, we're in a good place right now aren't we? But you can't be angry at me for being concerned. How can you trust him after he did to you?"

Kate let out a frustrated huff, Mike had always been overprotective, she understood to a point seeming they had a child together but on the other hand she wondered if it meant that he didn't trust her judgement.

"Mike, he's explained the situation to me and when we don't have little ears around I will explain it to you, or I'm sure Jim will be more than happy to put your mind at rest."

He rolled his eyes, Kate grabbed his hand.

"Mike, I trust him and you should too, but I told him that things are different now. Look, I don't know what's going to happen between us but you need to trust me and my decisions. Charlie is my number one priority, I promise."

Mike sighed.

"I just don't want things to change..."

Kate started to unpack the groceries.

"Mike, you know more than anyone that change is inevitable, we just need to compromise that's all..."

Mike's phone rang, he looked at the caller ID, it was Maxine. Kate leant over and saw that it was Maxine, she scoffed.

"And there's more compromise..."

Mike looked annoyed, damn the Navy and their timing, he answered the phone. Charlie ran up to him.

"Who's that Daddy?"

Mike put his hand over the phone.

"It's Auntie Max, I have to talk to her okay?"

Mike walked out into the backyard, Charlie put on a sad face and walked over to Kate.

"Daddy has to go to work doesn't he?"

She hugged Kate, she bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"Maybe..."

Charlie crossed her arms over her body and frowned.

"That means yes!"

She stomped off into her room, Kate sighed, she was about to go talk to her when there was a knock on the door. She groaned and answered it, it was Jim.

"Hey, I just realised I didn't leave you my number..."

He paused, he could tell by the look on Kate's face that something was wrong.

"Is everything ok?"

Kate looked towards Charlie's room, then to the backyard where Mike was on the phone.

"It's not a good time Jim..."

"What's the matter?"

"Charlie's upset, Mike's on the phone to Maxine, I think he's been crashed sailed."

Jim attempted to walk into the house, she tried to stop him.

"Jim..."

He pushed past her and looked around.

"Which one is her room?"

She pointed to the room on the left, he headed to her room and turned at the door.

"I've got this!"

He knocked on the door, he heard Charlie yell out.

"Go away! I'm mad!"

Jim laughed and poked his head in the door, she was on her bed with her arms folded.

"Can I come in, please?"

She hesitated then nodded, Jim entered and sat next to on her bed.

"What's the matter?"

She pouted.

"Daddy has to go away again!"

Jim nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah, but his job I really important..."

Charlie sighed and uncrossed her arms.

"I know, but I miss him a lot!"

Charlie leant against him.

"I bet he misses you too, do you know what he does out there?"

Charlie looked up at Jim.

"Kinda?"

Jim wrapped his arm around her, Kate was at the door peering in.

"He protects the sea and the people of the islands, he fights the bad guys so that peace is restored just like Moana!"

Charlie's eyes lit up.

"Really?!"

Jim nodded.

"Yeah! How cool is that?!"

Charlie's face lit up, she jumped off the bed and swung open the door, Kate jumped back, Jim looked up at her, she knew she'd been caught listening. She smiled at Jim with an appreciative look and mouthed the words 'thank you'.  
Jim walked out the room and followed Kate into the lounge room. Mike hung up his phone as Charlie hugged his leg. He looked up and saw Jim, before he could say something Charlie tugged on his shirt, he picked her up.

"Daddy, are you really like Moana?"

Mike looked confused, Kate stepped towards him.

"Ah, you save the sea and help the people of the islands."

He smiled at her, she shook her head.

"Oh, don't look at me, it was all Jim."

He glanced at Jim and nodded.

"Ah, thanks."

Jim could tell he wasn't thrilled that he was the one that made Charlie forgive him.

"No problem, happy I could help!"

He put his phone back in his pocket.

"So, I have to sail in 4 hours..."

Jim felt like he was interrupting a family moment.

"I better go then, I'll come back another time..."

Charlie reached out and grabbed Jim's hand.

"Don't go..."

Jim awkwardly glanced and Kate and Mike, Mike wasn't impressed that Charlie had immediately attached herself to Jim, but there was nothing he could do.

"I've gotta go get ready..."

Mike knelt down to Charlie.

"You'll come and see me off?"

She smiled and nodded. He kissed her on the forehead and left. Kate sat on the couch, Jim sat next to her.

"You really are the child whisperer!"

Jim smirked and sat back satisfied.

"Told ya, it's one of my many skills! You know I meant it when I said that if you needed a hand, I've got some time off so even if we're just friends Kate, I'm happy to help okay?"

Before she could answer Charlie hopped on to the couch.

"Uncle Jim..."

Kate smiled at Charlie's instant liking to Jim, she nudged him with her shoulder.

"You're in!"

Charlie attempted to climb on to his knee, Jim helped her up.

"Yes Charlie..."

She put on a persuasive smile.

"Do you wanna watch Moana with me?"

Jim laughed and tickled her.

"Again!?"

She laughed and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Pleeeeease!"

Jim gave in and sat on the floor, Charlie draped herself over him. Kate sat on the couch watching them, her initial shock and anger had worn off but now she had a million more thoughts run through her head. She told him that things would be different, she kept telling herself that too but it was like he never left. Could they just pick up where they left off? It surprised her that she was able to trust and forgive him so easily but she believed him when he said that he did it to protect her.

She smiled to herself as she watched Jim and Charlie joke around, she had never seen her take to someone as fast as she did to Jim. She picked up her glass of wine and sipped it, she closed her eyes and pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind, stop over thinking Kate, it won't do you any favours. She put her glass down and joined them on the floor, she laughed along with them. She was going to enjoy this moment, after all, when do you ever get a second chance at a life that you thought was gone?

End of Chapter 2. Please don't forget to review. Xx


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all enjoying my latest ramblings!

I'll try and get a couple of chapters out in the next week or 2 as I'll be away for 3 weeks after that, although leaving you on a cliffhanger maybe fun! hahaha.

Thanks to the people who sent me feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own nor did I create the characters of Sea Patrol. *Sad face*

Charlotte

Chapter 3

Later that afternoon Mike was standing on the deck of the Hammersley checking off the inventory list. He looked up and smiled as he saw Kate and Charlie walk down the dock, his smiled faded as he saw Jim following behind them. He walked down the gangway to greet them, Charlie ran into his arms, she hugged him tight.

"How long are you gone for Daddy?"

He knelt down and put her back on the ground.

"I'm not sure sweetie, but Mummy will take good care of you!"

She nodded and ran over to Jim and held his hand.

"Yeah and Uncle Jim, he lives around the corner now!"

Mike stood up and looked at Kate and Jim trying not to look too surprised.

"You've moved here?"

Jim nodded and put his arm around Kate.

"Yeah, after years of moving around I thought it was time to put down some roots!"

Kate was uneasy, she didn't want to give Mike the wrong impression seeming she had just told him that she wasn't jumping back into things. She stepped slightly to the side but gave Jim a reassuring smile. Swain ran down the gangway much to Kate's relief, it was a bit awkward.

"Swain!"

He smiled and held out his arms.

"Kate! Good to see you!"

They gave each other a hug, he knelt down to greet Charlie.

"Hey cutie!"

Charlie hi-fived him.

"Hey Uncle Chris!"

Swain stood up and realised that the other person standing with them was Jim, he had to do a double take.

"Jim?!"

Jim smiled and gave him a nod.

"Swain! How are you..."

They shook hands, Swain glanced at Mike making sure he wasn't going to explode.

"Ahhh, surprised! Really surprised! Umm Sir, we're due to sail in 5..."

Mike nodded. Swain turned his attention back to Jim.

"I think we better get a beer when we get back!"

Jim shook his hand again.

"Yeah, maybe a few, it's a long story!"

Swain and Mike boarded the boat. The crew pulled in the ropes and the boat started to pull away from the dock. Kate lifted Charlie into her hip, she was waving like a maniac.

"Can you see him? He's right up there!?

Kate pointed to the bridge, Charlie leant over to Jim wanting him to hold her.

"Uncle Jim is taller! I can see better."

Kate handed her to Jim, he put her on his shoulders while she kept waving. Mike looked out the window and saw Jim holding his little girl and sighed. Swain walked up behind Mike.

"Strange isn't it?"

Mike snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

Swain nodded towards Kate, Jim and Charlie.

"Well, it's like the boat never exploded, that's what would have happened right?"

Swain suddenly realised what he had said, he hoped that Mike hadn't taken offense.

"Oh sorry Boss, I didn't mean that..."

Mike put his hand up to stop him talking.

"It's ok Swain, I know what you meant..."

Mike sat in the Captain's chair trying to forget the picture of Jim playing happy families with *his* family. Dutchy walked up the stairs to the bridge, he stood behind Swain.

"Was that?"

Swain nodded.

"Yeah, crazy huh?!"

Dutchy leant closer towards Swain.

"Great, you remember how he used to be when Jim was around."

Swain laughed.

"Yeah, but things are different now..."

Mike could hear his crew whispering, he knew it was about Jim. He turned to address them.

"Don't ask me, I don't know the story yet!"

Dutchy cringed, they were busted.

"Oh no worries Sir, I'm sure we'll hear it sooner or later..."

Later that day Mike was in his cabin completing his paperwork. Dutchy knocked on his door.

"Come in..."

Dutchy entered the cabin carrying 2 brews.

"Though you might have needed this boss..."

He put the brew down on the desk.

"Thanks Dutchy..."

Dutchy hovered in his cabin, Mike looked up from his computer.

"Something else I can help you with?"

Dutchy shook his head and sat down.

"Ah no Boss, just thought you might have wanted to discuss Captain Roth being back."

Mike looked at Dutchy, he was the only one who really knew what went on years ago, he was appreciative that he had crew that cared but sometimes it made it difficult to separate work with his personal life. Mike continued on with his work trying not to make a big deal of it.

"Not much to tell mate, he's alive..."

Dutchy knew Mike wasn't great about talking about his feelings, he thought it was one of the reasons that Mike and Kate didn't work out.

"Soooo, you're ok with them being together while you're out here?"

Mike spun round on his chair.

"Don't have much choice do I?"

Dutchy rolled his eyes in his mind, typical Mike Flynn answer.

"I guess not, Sir."

Dutchy could tell this wasn't going anywhere, he got up and left, he turned at the door.

"Mike... if you wanna talk about it you know where I am."

Mike looked up from his computer.

"Thanks Dutchy, can you shut the door on your way out?"

Duchy did as he was asked, he walked off down the corridor shaking his head.

Mike lent back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face, Kate was right, they had tried it multiple times and it didn't work, maybe it was the thrill of it being against the rules, maybe it was impossible to have a decent relationship when you're both in the navy. He knew he cared about her and she had given him a child, he would always love her for that but he had to let go, even if it was just a little for now. Jim was a good guy and he did make her happy.

Jim, Kate and Charlie were driving home.

"Hey, do you wanna see my place?"

Kate shrugged, trying not to seem too interested.

"Yeah, sure..."

He turned a corner and drove a few hundred meters and pulled into a drive way. Kate looked at him and laughed.

"You weren't kidding when you said you couple of streets away."

Jim smiled innocently.

"Not my fault it was the only decent place in the area!"

They got out the car, Jim stopped at the door.

"Now you'll have to use your imagination as I haven't unpacked everything yet..."

He swung open the door, Kate couldn't help but gasp. The house was incredible, a palace. They walked through the 2 storey house, it was on the lake with a small private beach and a great outdoor deck. She walked out looking at the view and smiled.

"You bought this for the deck didn't you?!"

He reached out and held her hand and swung it in between them.

"Yeah, not quite the veranda but the view is just as nice, it reminded me of all those great nights we had at my old place!"

Kate spotted the spa out the corner of her eye and cringed.

"Oh, now I see the real reason..."

Jim looked over to the spa and then at Kate.

"Some might say it's romantic?"

Kate blushed, she looked away so he wouldn't see her rosy cheeks.

"Or tacky!"

She turned and admired the interior of the house.

"This house will be a lot of work!"

Charlie came running up to her with a photo.

"Look Mummy, is that you?!"

Kate knelt down and took the photo from Charlie. It was a photo of her and Jim from nearly 8 years ago. He had an arm around her and was kissing her forehead, they were laughing.

"Charlie, you shouldn't be going through other people's things!"

Charlie put a hand on her hip.

"It was just over there! I wasn't snooping, I promise!"

Jim walked over and looked at the photo, he smiled.

"Do you remember this?"

Kate was silent, she nodded.

"This is the photo that I kept, the one that got me through every day!"

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Charlie interrupted.

"Can I go in the spa?"

They all laughed. Kate cleared her throat.

"Maybe after sweetie, so umm, do you need a hand unpacking? I'm sure you would benefit from my organizational skills!"

He put the photo down on the mantle.

"Deal! And I'll cook dinner, we can christen the deck!"

Kate looked at Jim disapprovingly, he rolled his eyes.

"The BBQ Kate, but good to know where you're minds at!"

He smirked and winked at her.

A few hours later they had unpacked all the boxes, Kate stood in front of a book case and admired her handy work.

"Yup, still got it!"

Jim walked over to Kate and pretended to straighten a photo frame that was sitting on the shelf.

"Ha, I can just imagine your office! Nothing out of place right?"

She frowned and moved it back to the position it was in.

"Well, my house is chaos so something has to be in order!"

"Chaos?! Oh yeah right, there was a plate on the sink!"

Charlie tugged on Jim's pants.

"Can I go in the spa now?"

Jim picked her up.

"Yeah I think you've earned it. I'll fire up the barbie..."

Charlie splashed around in the spa while Jim and Kate sat at the table. Jim still couldn't take his eyes off her, she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Stop staring! It's weird!"

Jim laughed.

"I'm sorry, I really can't help it! I can't believe you're in my house, so are we going to talk about the possibility..."

Kate interrupted, she out her hand on his.

"Jim, I know we've lost a lot of time and you want to make it up to me and I know I must sound like a broken record when I say..."

Jim sighed and nodded, he shuffled his chair closer.

"It's complicated, I know Kate, I just wonder if you're concerned about someone else's happiness over your own?"

Kate frowned, she thought that he understood that her life revolved around Charlie, everything she did was to protect her.

"Jim, Charlie's happiness..."

Jim shook his head.

"No Kate, not hers..."

Kate sat back in her chair, he knew he meant Mike. He was right to a point, she didn't want him to feel on the outer, to feel like he'd been forgotten.

"Jim, this is what I meant about complicated..."

"Okay, Okay, I'll drop it... I just have one more complicated question then I'll leave it..."

She raised an eyebrow waiting for a silly question.

"Why McGregor and not Flynn?"

Kate laughed nervously, she wasn't expecting that question.

"Why not?"

Jim put his hands up in defence.

"Hey, I was just curious, although it I guess it's you Kate, I know how much you dislike doing what's expected..."

He laughed, Kate playfully hit his arm.

"Yeah well, it just felt right, but at the same time Mike and I weren't married and to be honest if I was to ever get married I probably would keep my name..."

Jim gave her a nudge.

"Oh really?"

Kate blushed, she didn't want Jim to think that was a hint.

"Look, it was just more that if things ended badly I didn't want a constant reminder of him, it was hard enough having to justify all my parenting decisions with him when we broke up..."

Jim could see she was getting worked up.

"Sorry, I didn't want to make you upset..."

She squeezed his hand a little.

"It's ok..."

Kate looked out over the water in a bit of a daze.

"So umm how old was she when you guys..."

Kate snapped back to reality and looked over to Jim and raised an eye brow.

"Is that another question Captain Roth?"

He smirked.

"Ah, no it's part b of question 1..."

Jim could see it was a bit of a sore subject, he didn't mean for the conversation to go that way.

"I'll stop, it's ok..."

Kate looked back over the water, she hadn't really discussed this with anyone, it actually felt good to talk about it to someone that wasn't already friends with Mike.

"It's ok, umm she was about 2, we should have probably ended it earlier, we knew it wasn't working but the day she called him 'Daddy, it broke my heart. I couldn't stand the thought her asking me in the future whether we really 'tried'. I mean no one wants their children to grow up with separated parents and I didn't want it to be my fault she didn't have a father."

Kate was nearly in tears, Jim felt horrible that he had made her upset. He pulled her in for a hug.

"There's no way she'd ever think like that Kate, you're a wonderful parent and she would know that you would have done everything in your power to give her everything in the world. You can't control everything!"

She wiped the tears from her face, she wasn't prepared for the way this made her feel, she changed the subject.

"Anyway, back to the name, a lot of people are curious, Mike was actually great about it, we get it and that's all that matters right?"

Jim shrugged.

"I guess..."

Back on Hammersley.

The phone on the bridge rang, Mike picked it up.

"Hammersley, Commander Flynn speaking, oh hi Maxine, yes we're in the area... No haven't seen anything like that... ok, we'll keep an eye out..."

He hung up the phone.

"Right, there have been some reports of boats being hijacked and ransacked. The crew are described as average Australian citizens. They're mostly boarding at night so there's no accurate description of the boat. Navcom have asked us to board all boats in the area and do a covert search."

The crew nodded. Jack Tolley, the Hamersley's XO was sitting at the radar.

"Ah boss, we have a radar contact..."

Mike walked over to the EOD. Dutchy entered the coordinates into the computer and bought up the picture.

"That's a fancy boat to be out this far."

Mike shrugged.

"Maybe it's come from one of the islands, some rich guy with a skipper."

Mike picked up the radio.

"Cruiser 'Peachy Keen' this is Australia Warship Hammersley calling you on VH channel 1-6, do you copy?"

"This is Peachy Keen, how can we help the navy today?"

"We're just doing safety inspections as a courtesy, there have been some attacks around the area so would you mind if we came aboard?"

"Ahh, we're kind of on a schedule."

"It won't take long, we'd hate to not tick you off our list and something happened."

"Ok, see you soon..."

Mike nodded at Tolley.

"Right X, take a boarding party, gear up just in case, you never know!"

He nodded, Dutchy, Bird and 2 Dads left the bridge.

The RHIB made its way to the vessel. The crew boarded on the rear deck, the captain came up from the galley and greeted them.

"It's not every day you get a visit from the Navy!"

Tolley smiled.

"Yeah, we'll hopefully it's a good one, I'm the executive Officer of HMAS Hammersley, Lieutenant Tolley...

He shook his hand.

"Harry Knapp, good to meet you!"

Tolley got out his pocket notepad.

"Is this your boat Sir?"

Harry fidgeted on the spot.

"Ah, yeah, we're just out here on a pleasure cruise...boys trip, you know?"

Tolley nodded and noted his strange behaviour.

"How many people do you have on board Sir?"

Harry looked around the boat.

"Ah we have 6 including myself..."

"Could you bring them up on deck?"

Harry looked unimpressed.

"Is that really necessary? This is already taking up our time..."

Tolley nodded.

"Sorry Sir, its protocol."

Tolley noticed he was getting touchier, he turned to give orders to the Hammersley crew. Before he was able to speak the crew of "Peachy Keen" stormed the deck, guns raised. The Hammersley crew followed and raised their weapons. They were outnumbered, Tolley tried to reason with them.

"Ah, Mr Knapp, we're not after any trouble, let's not do anything silly now..."

Harry dismissed Tolley's comments.

"Yeah, well you should have stayed on the Navy boat, it's too late now..."

Dutchy made eye contact with Tolley, trying to indicate a plan of attack, Tolley shook his head slightly, he didn't want to risk it.

"Alright, just take it easy, we're putting out weapons down!"

They slowly lowered the weapons on the deck and put their hands behind their head.

Back on the Hammersley, Swain was watching the EOD.

'Ah Sir, I think we have a problem!"

Mike rushed over to the EOD and saw the struggle. All of his crew had been disarmed and were kneeling on the deck. A voice came over the radio.

"Commander Flynn..."

Mike picked up the radio.

"This is Flynn, what is going on over there?"

"We have your crew, now if you value their lives you will bring the other RHIB with the rest of your crew."

"I'm sorry I cannot do that..."

"Then all of you will die!"

"What do you want?"

"Well originally nothing, but since you had to stick your head where it doesn't belong I thought I might as well make the government look bad!"

Mike was confused.

"I'm not following..."

"Oh come on Commander, I was told you were a smart bloke."

"Who told you that?"

He laughed.

"Does the name Madelaine Cruse mean anything to you?"

Mike paused. Madelaine had been put away years ago, she was a double agent and a part of the reason that Jim "died".

"Ok, just take it easy, I'm sure we can work something out?"

Mike turned to Swain.

"Get Commander White on the phone!"

"No, I don't want anything from you. I just want the world to see that the other side can win for a change! Oh and tell Roth I say hi!"

Mike felt sick, what had Jim got to do with Jim? Swain passed the phone to Mike.

"Sir, Commander White."

"Maxine, they have 4 of my crew, they have no demands, I think they're part of the cell that Madelaine cruse was a part of... yes I know... I'm sending you pictures right now."

Mike picked up the binoculars, they crew were clearing the deck of the boat.

"Maxine, we'll call you back."

Mike hung up the phone and rushed out to the deck and looked through the binoculars.

"Swain, prepare to take a hit, close up specials..."

Swain ran out to Mike.

"Sir?"

Mike looked at Swain.

"They have an RPG, I don't think we can out run them! Get someone on the typhoon and a gunner ready. Get everyone into the rafts at the rush!"

Before Mike could look through the binoculars again he heard them fire, he picked up the radio.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday this is Australian War ship Hammersley, we are being fired upon with an RPG, request immediate assistance."

The missile hit, it shook the boat. The gunner took position and aimed at the crew holding the RPG. Mike radioed the gunner.

"Only take a shot if it's clear! We have crew on that boat!"

They fired, The Hammersley crew jumped overboard. The crew of the Peachy Keen launched another missile. Mike frantically ran into the ship looking for his crew.

"Sierra 82 do you copy, is everyone accounted for?"

"This is Sierra 82, yes boss we're just making our way to the rafts."

Jim's house.

Kate and Jim were sitting on the deck enjoying the sunshine. He picked up the remote sitting on the table.

"Check this out!"

He pushed a button and a TV appeared out if the bulkhead.

"Ahh, that's the real reason you bought this place!"

He switched it on and turned the volume down. He turned his attention back to Kate.

"Hey, you can't tell me that you wouldn't kill to be here when the footy season starts."

Kate rolled her eyes, she glanced at the TV out the corner of her eye, she saw footage of a burning ship. She spun her chair round and was glued to the TV. Jim watched her strange reaction and looked around at the TV, words scrolled across the bottom.

"Breaking News, an Australian Navy Ship has been attacked and has sunk north of Cairns..."

They both stood up and looked at each other, Kate rummaged through her bag to find her phone, it rang as she was about to dial.

"Maxine? Please tell me it's not..."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's taken so long, I'm trying to get a few chapters out before I go away in a week but life keeps getting in the way!

Thanks for the feedback.

Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own them nor did I create the characters for Sea Patrol.

Please keep reviewing or send me ideas, everything helps.

From Chapter 3

"Breaking News, an Australian Navy Ship has been attacked and has sunk north of Cairns..."

They both stood up and looked at each other, Kate rummaged through her bag to find her phone, it rang as she was about to dial.

"Maxine? Please tell me it's not..."

Charlotte

Chapter 4

Kate collapsed back onto the chair and dropped the phone beside her, she began to sob uncontrollably. Jim ran to her side and held her tight to try and comfort her. Charlie came running out of the lounge room after hearing her mum cry.

"Mummy, are you okay?"

Kate quickly wiped the tears from her face and tried to compose herself for Charlie's sake, she glanced at Jim.

"I need to..."

She didn't need to finish her sentence, Jim got up and grabbed his keys. They ran to the car and got in. Kate got in the front trying to calm herself, Jim buckled Charlie into her seat.

"Mummy, why are you crying? What's happening?"

Kate glanced back at Charlie's worried face, she got out of the front and hopped in the back and sat next to her, she wrapped an arm around her.

"It's okay sweetie, I just need to talk to Auntie Max, you can hang out in my office with Jim okay?"

She nodded, Kate held her tight the entire ride to Navcom.

Kate sprinted into Navcom and to Maxine's office, she didn't wait for an invitation and barged in. Maxine was on the phone, Kate stood there waiting, fidgeting impatiently. Maxine hung up the phone and could see the state Kate was in, Kate was about to speak when Maxine stopped her.

"Kate, before you panic there are search crews out there, they will be there within minutes."

Kate paced around the office trying to make sense of what had happened.

"Ma'am, I don't understand..."

Maxine walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her.

"Kate, I don't have the full story and before your thoughts get the better of you..."

Kate stopped and took a few deep breaths in, Maxine gave her shoulder a slight squeeze.

"They're trying to get the radio exchanges now."

Kate dropped her head, she didn't know if she could ask the question in her head out loud, she swallowed hard and attempted to speak.

"Do you know if anyone..."

Maxine couldn't let her finish the sentence.

"Kate, I have no other information..."

A crew member rushed in with a USB, Maxine plugged it in and pressed play. They sat, trying to concentrate on every word.

"Commander Flynn?"

"This is Flynn, what is going on over there?"

"We have your crew, now if you value their lives you will bring the other RHIB with the rest of your crew"

"I'm sorry I cannot do that..."

"Then all of you will die!"

"What do you want?"

"Well originally nothing but since you had to stick your head where it doesn't belong I thought I'd might as well make the government look bad!"

"I'm not following..."

"Oh come on Commander, I was told you were a smart bloke."

"Who told you that?"

"Does the name Madelaine Cruse mean anything to you?"

"Okay, just take it easy, I'm sure we can work something out?"

"No, I don't want anything from you; I just want the world to see that the other side can win for a change! Oh and tell Roth I say hi!"

Kate gasped and put her hands over her mouth, she sat down. Maxine was confused about her reaction.

"Is he talking about Captain Roth? I thought he..."

Kate shook her head and pointed to her office. Maxine looked through her window to Kate's office and saw Jim playing with Charlie. She was completely confused, but her personal questions would have to wait.

"We will have to speak to him, in the mean time Kate I don't expect you to handle this one."

She stood up in objection.

"Ma'am I need to do this! It will be fine, knowing I am doing something to help will keep me sane, please!"

Maxine looked at Kate concerned, she knew it wasn't a good idea but she was great at her job, she reluctantly nodded.

"Okay, give Fleet Command a call and arrange the statement..."

Kate went back to her office, Jim walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"Any news?"

She awkwardly wriggled out of his embrace and stood back from him, she looked at the floor, Jim was confused about her reaction to his hug.

"Ah, Maxine needs to speak to you."

Jim frowned, not understanding why he was being questioned.

"About what?"

"Apparently your name was mentioned in a communication..."

Jim looked at Kate strangely and walked to Maxine's office. Charlie was sitting in Kate's chair, Maxine's assistant knocked on the door.

"Would you like me to take her for a while?

Kate nodded.

"Thanks Rach! Charlie why don't you go get a milkshake with Rachel."

She jumped up.

"Can I have strawberry?"

Kate nodded as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Anything you like sweetheart!"

She took Rachel's hand and walked out the office.

30 minutes later.

Kate stood out the front of Navcom, the press had gathered and were waiting for a statement. She took a deep breath and approached the lectern, her hand shook as she placed the piece of paper on the stand. She adjusted the microphone and took a deep breath.

"At approximately 5:17 EST Australian Armidale Class Patrol boat Hammersley, Captained by Commander Michael Flynn was involved in an incident..."

Kate paused, she could feel a lump in her throat, she needed to compose herself.

"The crew of Hammersley were conducting a routine boarding 109 nautical miles north of Cairns. It is understood that the crew were over powered by a group of wanna be terrorists, no demands were made. Without warning they fired an RPG on the ship a number of times and it sank approximately 21 minutes later."

Kate took a breath, reporters screamed questions in her direction.

"Are there casualties? Fatalities?"

Kate shook her head.

"A recovery mission is happening as we speak, we are not about to comment on any personnel at this time."

More questions were fired at her.

"Commander McGregor, you used to be on that ship yes?"

She couldn't focus, all she could think about was Mike and her friends, what if they hadn't made it? She snapped back to reality as the questions were getting louder.

"Do you know anyone on the ship?"

She felt sick, she couldn't answer. Another reporter called out.

"Isn't Commander Flynn the father of your child?"

Kate stood there, it was all starting to sink in. She stammered her words.

"Ahh, I have no further comment at this time, I'm sorry, we will keep you updated. At this time we ask that you respect the privacy of the families involved, thank you."

Kate ran back into Navcom and into her office, she closed the door and leant on it, she closed her eyes trying to get the questions out of her head. Jim was sitting at her desk.

"Kate, what can I do?"

She sat down opposite him, she was mad about the situation and confused about his involvement, she shot an angry look at him.

"You can explain how you're involved in this!"

Jim was taken a back at her attitude.

"Kate, I would never have come back unless I thought it was safe. Maybe they thought you were still on the ship..."

Kate instantly became defensive.

"Oh, so this is my fault?"

Jim sighed, he knew she was stressed, he had to keep his cool.

"Kate, please, you know that's not what I mean! Maybe this was their plan B, lie low until everyone thinks it's over. Madelaine had friends in high places, we thought we got everyone! I don't know how this guy knew my name..."

Kate put her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry Jim, I'm just so overwhelmed..."

Jim moved over towards Kate and put his arm around her.

"It's fine! I'm sure everyone is safe! You need to stay positive."

Maxine entered Kate's office, Kate jumped up.

"Any news?"

Maxine smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

"No fatalities!"

Kate sighed with relief and sat back down, she leant over on her chair trying to steady her breathing. Maxine sat next to her and put a hand on her knee.

"They have found everyone, they have varying degrees of injuries. They're bringing them back now. Ah, look I've gotta head home for a minute..."

Kate looked up at Maxine.

"Oh, is everything okay?!"

Maxine stood up.

"Ah my house has been broken into...but it's fine! Go! I'll catch up with you later!"

Kate stood and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Maxine, let me know if you need a hand with anything!

She nodded and headed for the door.

"I appreciate it but you've got your hands full! Now go!"

Kate looked at Jim.

"Can you give me a ride?"

He nodded.

They collected Charlie and headed for the hospital. They got out the car and were mobbed by press.

"Commander McGregor, how is Commander Flynn? Is this his daughter?"

Kate picked Charlie up and shielded her from the flashing cameras, they ran into the hospital.  
They were waiting in the hallway for the crew to arrive. The emergency doors flung open, they stood up trying to see who it was, Kate was impatient and ran over.

"Dutchy! Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, just a few flesh wounds! Have you been told wether..."

Kate grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Everyone's alive!"

Dutchy laid back down on the gurney, relieved, they wheeled him off. The gurneys kept coming, Jim looked at Kate, he knew who she was really here for, he felt a sense of déjà vu but he couldn't be mad, Mike was the father of her child of course she would be worried. The last gurney was Mike's, Kate hesitated, she didn't know the extent of his injuries.

"Charlie, just stay with Uncle Jim for a minute okay?"

Jim took her hand and led her down the corridor.  
Kate took a deep breath in, she didn't know what to expect. She walked into the room and slowly approached the bed, a doctor stopped her.

"Ma'am, are you family?"

Kate paused trying to think how to explain their situation.

"Ah, he's the father of my child..."

"Kate?"

She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Mike's voice, she rushed to his side and grabbed his hand. She looked over his body, he had bad burns down the left side of his arm. She tried not to look worried, she forced a smile on her face.

"Kate, I'm fine..."

She looked at the doctor for confirmation, he nodded.

"The burns are serious but are restricted to his arm and shoulder, smoke inhalation but that's about it, he's very lucky!"

Kate sat next to his bed, Mike looked around the room.

"Where's Charlie?"

"She's with Jim."

Mike expression darkened.

"I don't want her anywhere near him!"

Kate gave him a frustrated look, she knew Mike wasn't thrilled with his return but he couldn't blame all of this on him.

"Mike, it's not his fault!"

Mike couldn't believe how naive she was being.

"So you know? They were here for revenge, here because of him!"

Kate looked around, she didn't want him to make a scene, she tried to keep her voice calm.

"Mike, you don't know that..."

Mike's voice got louder.

"No, you don't know him! He's been gone 5 years Kate, what if he's involved in this, you're too blinded by his charm!"

Kate paused, she thought about Mike's comment for a second, she refused to believe it. Mike struggled to sit up, he could see she was thinking about it.

"Admit it! there's a chance?"

The doctor put a hand on Mike's shoulder.

"Commander Flynn, you need to stay calm and keep your blood pressure down."

He turned to Kate.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"

Kate glanced at Mike, she hated that he could sway her judgement. Jim was sitting in the hallway with Charlie, he stood as Kate exited the room.

"Is he okay?"

Kate didn't stop, she walked down the corridor.

"Yeah, he has some serious burns in his arm but otherwise ok..."

Jim picked Charlie up and quickly followed her.

"Umm, aren't you going to stay?"

She glanced back at him, still walking.

"Why would I? He's okay."

Jim was confused, before Mike had arrived he swore that she still had feelings for him and now she didn't seem to care. Charlie pat Jim on the shoulder, he turned his attention to her.

"Why is Mummy mad at Daddy?"

Jim gave her a reassuring smile.

"She's not mad sweetie, she's just worried."

Back at Kate's House.

Kate put Charlie to bed and came out to the lounge room, Jim was waiting for her.

"Jim, I'm okay really... you can go..."

Jim walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be silly Kate..."

She shrugged him off and raised her voice.

"Jim, I've been doing this on my own for a while, I think I'll be fine!"

Jim laughed, he knew exactly what she was doing.

"Kate, don't try and push me away, remember I know you. Just tell me what happened at the hospital?"

She put her hands to her head and sat on the couch.

"I'm sorry! He just makes me so mad! He makes me doubt things, things that I know aren't true..."

She glanced up at him, Jim could see her concerned look, he hoped it wasn't about them.

"Ok, tell me what's not true then..."

Kate couldn't believe what she was about to say but the tiniest part of her had to ask.

"He said that because you've been gone for 5 years that I didn't know you, that we didn't know you..."

Jim's brow furrowed, he wasn't 100% sure what she was getting at.

"Ah okay, but that doesn't make sense Kate, you know me, you trust me right?"

Kate swallowed hard and broke eye contact, she couldn't watch his reaction to what she was about to say.

"He said that you could be playing me, that you're apart of all this..."

Jim stood up outraged, how could she think these things, after everything they had been through.

"Is that was you really think?"

Kate regretted her words instantly, she stood up and grabbed his hand.

"Jim..."

He snatched his hand away.

"But you just said that he makes you doubt things, so a part of you, no matter how small, thinks that I would come back here to deceive you, to get close so I could hurt him, hurt you...hurt Charlie?"

Kate looked at Jim's crushed expression, she realised how ridiculous it sounded, she was ashamed that she even said it out loud. Jim didn't want to hear anything else from her, he stormed out the house.

Kate sat back down on the couch and punched the seat. Why did she do that, why did she let him get into her head.

A few hours later Kate had attempted to get on with her evening, she tried to distract herself but cleaning and doing some washing. She looked at her phone, it was 930pm, she got into bed and stared at her phone. She started to type a message to Jim. "Jim, you need to understand that you've been away for a long time and..." she shook her head and deleted it. She started to type again. "I'm sorry, I trust you completely. I know you would never hurt me." She pressed send and stared at the screen willing him to reply. After 30 minutes she locked the screen and placed in on her bedside table. She turned off the light and tried to get some sleep, she tossed and turned constantly, her mind wouldn't switch off, what if she had ruined everything? She sat up in a huff and picked up her phone, it was 11pm. She threw back the covers and went down to the kitchen to heat up some milk. She turned on the kitchen light and got the milk out of the fridge. She stood in front of the microwave and watched the cup turn inside. She paused it as she thought she heard a strange noise, she walked towards the front door and called out.

"Hello?"

Nothing. She looked through the peep hole, no one was there. She was puzzled to see Jim's car still in the drive way. She walked outside and turned on the torch on her phone. She put it up against the car window, Jim was lying in the back asleep.

"Jim?"

She tapped on the glass. He bolted up and squinted as she shone the light in his face, he out his hand up to shield his eyes.

"Kate, turn off the torch!"

She opened the car door.

"What are you doing out here..."

He couldn't meet her gaze, he was still hurt.

"Kate, I'm mad at you but it doesn't mean I don't care. I didn't think you should be alone so I stayed out here."

Kate laughed half heartedly,

"Jim, please come back inside, I'm the biggest idiot in the world! You have every right to be angry, please..."

She grabbed his hand and he reluctantly got out the car. They walked in to her house and into the bed room, they sat on the bed. Jim held her hand in his.

"You know I wouldn't have returned if..."

Kate nodded and interrupted.

"I know Jim, I think the pressure is just getting to me but you have to at least understand Mike's hesitation, even if he's being an overprotective parent."

Jim sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know if I had a family I'd do anything to protect them..."

She looked into his eyes and put her hand on his chest.

"Jim, you have a family..."

He smiled and out his hand on hers.

"But what about Mike?"

"It's okay he'll come round, I promise..."

Jim got up and headed for the door, Kate sat on the bed confused.

"Where are you going?"

He turned at the door.

"I'm a gentleman Kate, plus I don't know if I could answer Charlie's 100 questions in the morning."

The next morning Kate awoke in her bed, she rubbed her eyes, she didn't remember going to sleep. She bolted upright and checked her phone for the time, it was 10am, she was late for work and Charlie, where was she? She jumped out of bed and ran into the lounge, Charlie was sitting on the couch eating pancakes.

"Hi Mummy! Jim made pancakes!"

Jim walked into the lounge with a cup of coffee, he handed it to Kate.

"Morning! I let you sleep, Maxine called and offered you the day off, thought it might be a good idea, Charlie has been asking to see Mike."

Jim picked up his jacket and wallet and headed for the door. Kate swallowed her mouthful of coffee and gave him a puzzled look.

"Where are you going this time?"

Jim turned at the door.

"I just need to sort some stuff out, I'll talk to you later!"

Kate knew he was up to something, she ran to the door and called out after him.

"Hang on what are you..."

Before she could finish her sentence Jim got into his car and drove off.

Kate sat on the couch next to Charlie and sipped her coffee.

"You wanna go see Daddy?"

Charlie smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I've got lots of pictures for him!"

Later that morning at the Hospital.

Kate walked down the hallway, Charlie ran to Mike's room.

"Slowly Hunny!"

Charlie got to the door and stopped, Mike turned to see her.

"There's my favourite girl!"

Charlie ran and jumped on the bed, she looked at Mike's arm.

"What happened Daddy?"

Mike pulled her in with his good arm and hugged her, kissed her head.

"Don't you worry about that! How are you? What have you been up to?"

Charlie sat next to him cuddled into his embrace.

"Good! Not much, Uncle Jim made me pancakes for breakfast."

Mike looked at Kate disapprovingly.

"Oh did he?"

Kate sat down waiting for the third degree, Mike covered Charlie's ears.

"Kate, I'm not okay with this!"

Kate wasn't in the mood, he'd already made her and Jim fight once this week, plus she didn't want Charlie to hear his 'opinions'.

"Mike, not now!"

She looked at Mike then Charlie, she wiggled out of his embrace and pat Mike on the arm.

"How long will you be here Daddy?"

"I'm not sure, a little while though..."

Charlie got the pictures out of Kate's bag.

'Here, I drew these for you! Where can we hang them?"

There was a knock on the door, they both turned and were surprised to see Jim.  
Kate got up and walked over to him and lowered her voice.

"What are you doing here?"

He leaned in.

"Sorry Kate, I thought you'd be gone by now, I want to speak to Mike..."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well at least he can't run, he has to listen to me!"

Kate turned to Mike.

"Charlie, come with me for a minute..."

Kate squeezed Jim's arm.

"Good luck!

She left. Jim cautiously approached Mike's bed.

"Glad you're okay Mike."

Mike scoffed.

"Yeah, no thanks to you!"

Jim sad down next to his bed and took a breath in.

"Mike, do you really believe that I'm a part of this?"

Mike was surprised, he couldn't believe Kate had told him what he had said, he shifted uncomfortable in the bed.

"Well..."

Jim tired to make eye contact with him.

"Seriously Mike?"

He shrugged trying not to give in to easily.

"Hey, Madelaine was very convincing."

Jim handed him his phone.

"Fine then, call the Cops then, the AFP..."

Mike rolled his eyes and pushed his hand away and sighed.

"Okay, you may not be involved but now we are, she could be in danger..."

Jim tried to reason with him.

"Mike, that's our job! There will always be danger..."

Mike looked at Jim, he wasn't sure what it was about him that annoyed him but he knew he wasn't to give in so easily like last time. He had to try and make an effort else he may be excluded altogether.

"Okay well explain this mess to me, why the hell was the Hammersley targeted in this attack? And why was your name mentioned?"

Jim didn't really have the answers, well none that Mike would probably accept.

"Mike, to be really honest I'm not sure. Look, all I know is that Madelaine leaked my name to the rest of the group when she went down. As far as I know she didn't snitch on any of the bigger players. I don't know who this guy was, maybe he was a new recruit but it was a very strange act. I think this would have happened whether I was here or not, it was a random boarding after all wasn't it?"

Mike nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I guess..."

Jim shifted his chair closer.

"I know you don't want to hear a big sob story from me but I have waited 5 years for the woman I love, now know you know how that feels. I spent 5 long years alone, away from my friends and family not know where my life was going, whether I'd ever see anyone I loved again, all for doing my job."

Mike sat there processing Jim's words, he knew he wasn't responsible, he even felt bad for him. He couldn't imagine what he had been through, it wasn't his fault and he had been punished enough. Jim sat there nervously waiting for a response, he wasn't comfortable spilling his feelings to Mike but maybe this was the only way that he would understand.

"Look, you are the father of her only child, you have a history and I can never replace that but I love her. I would never hurt her or intentionally put her in danger. I'm not trying to replace you but I'm not going to give in this time."

Mike locked eyes with Jim for a moment and then let out a frustrated grunt.

"God, it's so hard to hate you!"

Jim was surprised by his comment, a huge smile came over his face.

"Does that mean we can make this work?!"

Mike rolled his eyes.

"I guess that if someone has to be looking after my daughter who better than to protect her from the world than an SAS Captain right?"

Jim couldn't wipe the smile from his face.

"Thanks Mike, I promise I won't let you down! So, Kate has to go back to work tomorrow and I was going to offer to look after Charlie, are you ok with that?"

Mike nodded.

"As long as you bring her to visit me!"

Jim stood up and put his hand out to shake Mike's hand. Mike paused for a moment and looked up at him, he smiled and shook his hand.

"Of course, see you tomorrow."

Jim walked out of Mike's room, Kate was outside pacing up and down. Charlie ran back in to Mike's room.

"That was quick, what happened!?"

Jim smiled and put his arm around her.

"Nothing, we spoke man to man, gentile to gentile."

Kate looked at him not believing it went as smoothly as he was describing. Jim knew she thought he was pulling her leg, he laughed and kissed her.

"Kate, it's fine, we're good!"

Kate still wasn't convinced.

"You're good? Just like that? Ok then..."

Charlie came running out.

"Daddy said Jim is bringing me in tomorrow! Can we go home so I can draw him a picture?"

Kate nodded and looked at Jim.

"I offered to look after her tomorrow, while you go into work..."

She held his hand and smiled.

"Thanks!"

The next day at the hospital.

Some of the crew were visiting, Dutchy and Swain were in the chairs next to his bed. They turned and were surprised to see Jim with Charlie. Charlie ran into Mike's room.  
Jim stopped at the door.

"I'll be back soon..."

Mike sat up in bed.

"No Jim, it's ok you can stay..."

Jim turned and smiled and walked into the room, he shook Dutchy and Swain's hand and sat down.

Dutchy smacked him on the back.

"So, he returns from the dead!"

Charlie gasped and put her hands over her face.

"Are you a vampire!?"

They all laughed, Mike turned to Charlie.

"How do you even know what that is?"

Charlie turned to face him.

"Sesame Street!"

They all laughed, they sat there eagerly listening as Jim explained what had happened over the past few years.

Navcom.

Kate walked into Maxine's office.

"Hi Ma'am, thanks for yesterday."

She sat opposite Maxine.

"Of course Kate, but umm Fleet Command would prefer if I handled any press from here on."

Kate wasn't surprised by the decision.

"Fair enough Ma'am."

Maxine lent on her desk and tried to make eye contact with her.

"Kate, this is not a reflection on your capability but you're too close to this one."

Kate nodded, she knew it wasn't but it was still a little disheartening.

"You don't need to explain...umm what happened with your house? Anything taken?"

Maxine looked un-phased.

"Nothing that I could see, it was strange, they probably got the wrong house or something! Anyway I haven't had a chance to visit Mike and the crew, how are they?"

"They're lucky Ma'am, so lucky!"

Kate sighed.

"I can't believe the Hammersley is gone..."

Maxine nodded sympathetically.

"I know Kate, a lot of history there for everyone!"

Maxine shuffled though some paperwork on her desk, there was an awkward silence. Maxine looked up at Kate trying to figure up how to bring up her next topic.

"So...Captain Roth..."

Kate didn't know whether Mike had shared his "opinions" of Jim with Maxine, she had always worried that Maxine and Mike's friendship would interfere with their work life.

"Yes, what about him Ma'am?"

"I had a good chat with him yesterday, I feel that he's innocent in all of this. I know that you two are friendly but I thought that you should know I have full confidence in him, even though some might not?!"

Kate could feel her cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Thanks Ma'am, that means a lot, I know that it's hard to trust people after what Madelaine did but..."

Maxine nodded.

"Yeah, but I think that some other people's opinions are swayed by other personal feelings."

Kate knew she was talking about Mike, she obviously hadn't spoken to him in the last few hours.

"Ah actually Ma'am, I believe that Mike's opinion may have changed. Jim went to talk to him today and I think they've sorted things out, he's even ok with Jim looking after Charlie, he's helping us out today!"

Maxine was surprised, she looked at Kate doubtfully.

"Really?!"

Kate laughed at Maxine's expression.

"Yeah, things might actually work this time, so anyway if there isn't anything else..."

Kate got up and headed for the door, Maxine followed.

"Ah, actually Kate, there is something else..."

Kate was concerned at the tone of Maxine's voice, she turned and sat back down.

Back at Kate's House.

Jim was making Charlie a sandwich, she sat at the kitchen bench watching him, she leant over the bench and tilted her head.

"Did you really die?"

Jim laughed and handed her the sandwich.

"No sweetie, I just had to go away for a while..."

Charlie titled her head the other way.

"Why?"

Jim paused, there was no way he was explaining this to a 4 year old, he smiled trying to cover his white lie.

"Ah, just had to that's all!"

She hopped down of her chair and grabbed the sandwich.

"Okay..."

She walked over to the couch not mentioning anything else about it. Jim smiled to himself, things we're so simple when you were a child, so black and white. It would be nice to see the world like that again.

Charlie ran into her room and grabbed her bear and sat back on the couch.

"Can I watch a movie?"

Jim walked into the lounge.

"Let me guess?! Moana?"

Charlie smiled and nodded while she ate her sandwich. Jim sighed and put the DVD in. He sat on the couch with her, she tapped him frantically on the arm.

"Hey, don't sit on Hammy!"

Jim stood up and pulled the bear out from under him.

"Hammy?"

Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, Mummy got him for me when I was born! He's named after the boat!"

Jim looked at the bear and chuckled.

"Oh I get it! That's cute, but he's in the wrong uniform?"

Charlie frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Jim shook his head.

"Never mind."

That night Kate came home early, even though she completely trusted Jim she was a bit nervous about leaving them longer than she had to.

"Hello? Mummy's home!"

Charlie came running to the door.

"Yay! Mummy!"

Jim was in the kitchen cooking, Kate walked in, she inhaled through her nose, her mouth started to water. She walked up behind him at the stove and peaked over his shoulder.

"Mmm, that smells good!"

He gave her a cheeky smile and winked at her.

"Yeah I know, but what about the curry?"

She hit him playfully on the arm, he put the lid on the pot.

"Give it another 30... "

He pulled the tray out the oven, Charlie eagerly sat at the table.

"And for you young lady, homemade chicken nuggets and veggies."

Her eyes lit up as she wiggled excitedly on the chair.

"Uncle Jim, can you cook every night?"

Kate put on a sad face.

"Hey, don't you like my cooking?"

Charlie squirted tomato sauce all over her plate.

"It's good Mummy, but Jim's is better!"

Kate looked at Jim and laughed.

"You're making me look bad!"

Later that night Kate tucked Charlie into bed, she squirmed in the bed and took her arms out of the covers.

"Can Jim read me a story?"

He was watching them from the door and walked in, Kate kissed her on the head.

"Just a short one okay? It's late and you have kindy tomorrow!"

Kate walked out and hovered by the door, Jim sat on the bed.

"Okay, once upon a time there was a beautiful Navy Officer..."

Charlie sat up.

"Oh, just like Mummy?!"

Kate giggled. Jim nodded and tucked her back in.

"Yes, just like Mummy, she was the captain of a patrol boat..."

Charlie sat up again.

"Oh, oh the Hammersley?"

Jim laughed and tucked her in again.

"Okay, the Hammersley and she had a very cheeky daughter..."

Charlie interrupted.

"What was her name?"

"Ah, Charlotte..."

Charlie laughed.

"But that's my name..."

"What? You can't have the same name? Anyway if you keep on interrupting you won't find out what happens!"

Charlie crossed her arms and lay back down.

"So anyway, one day she met a very handsome prince, he loved her very much but she was scared..."

Charlie yawned and snuggled into her pillow

"Why?"

Jim tucked her in tighter and whispered.

"I'm not sure..."

She yawned again.

"That's silly..."

She started to drift off to sleep, he sat there and made sure she was asleep. He kissed her forehead and got up.

"Uncle Jim..."

He turned at the door, Kate tiptoed away.

"Yeah?"

"She shouldn't be scared!"

Jim smiled and shut the door and walked into the lounge, Kate was sitting on the couch, he sat next to her.

"I know you were listening!"

She hit him on the arm.

"Ouch! Has anyone ever told you that you have anger issues McGregor?"

She hit him again and laughed.

"You're so great with her and she just adores you!"

Jim put his arm around her.

"Yeah well she easy to like, she's just like her mother! You know I think you should take some advice from your daughter..."

Kate raised an eyebrow and lifted her head.

"And what's advice is that Captain Roth?"

He scooted closer to her.

"Don't be scared..."

She looked into Jim's eyes and smiled. She slowly lent in, their lips touching ever so slightly, Kate hovered for a second before kissing him deeper. The separated and both smiled, Kate hit him again.

"Who said I was scared?"

They laughed and kissed again.

"I said I just needed some time..."

Jim was sitting on something; he pulled Hammy out from underneath him. Kate grabbed it from him.

"Aww poor Hammy!"

Jim laughed.

"I'm confused, he's in an Army uniform!"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, for some reason they don't make Navy ones, how rude huh? So umm actually I need to talk to you about something..."

Jim sat back on the couch.

"How nice that kiss was?"

Kate grinned.

"No, I mean yes it was lovely but this is a bit more serious. Maxine is a bit concerned about the publicity this is getting, umm they keep bringing up Mike and I..."

Jim shrugged, he didn't see it as a big deal.

"Well it's in the past, if they don't fuel it, it won't get any bigger."

Kate broke eye contact, this was going to be hard to explain.

"Yeah I know, but she's just worried it's going to turn into a crazy gossip story if they find out about us..."

Jim was starting to get irritated, he knew Kate liked the rules but would she really choose the Navy over their relationship?

"So what do they want? For us not to be together?"

Kate didn't say anything, Jim knew what that meant, he stood up in front of her.

"Kate, that is ridiculous!"

She reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him back down on to the couch.

"I know, but I feel like I've caused some of this..."

Jim's tone of voice was getting more aggravated.

"Okay, well it's not like we're purposely going to flaunt this in front of the cameras, they can't tell us who we can and can't be with Kate!"

Kate sighed, he kissed her again.

"I better get this out of my system then if we can't do it in public!"

Kate was annoyed, he wasn't taking this seriously, she pulled away.

"Jim, I'm serious we need to think about this..."

Jim stopped and lent back on the couch frustrated, Kate put a hand on his knee.

"Are you still okay to drop her to kindy tomorrow?"

He cross his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I said I would..."

Kate sighed.

"I have to go in early to avoid the press... "

Jim let out a grunt and got up to leave, she grabbed his arm stopping him.

"Don't leave Jim."

Jim paused, he didn't want to fly off the handle but he had sacrificed so much to be with her and yet she wasn't able to do the same.

"Kate, if it's not one thing it's another. I'm beginning to wonder if this is what you really want, I know this is a lot all at once and you love your job but I think you need some time to think. I know I want you, I thought you wanted to be with me but maybe we want different things. "

He couldn't wait for her response, he was too scared of what it would be. He turned at left, he closed the door with a thud. She sat there and wondered if she had pushed too far, he had to understand she was just looking out for everyone involved. She got up and opened Charlie's door slightly and peered in, she was fast asleep. She walked over to the bed and got in, she held Charlie close as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

End of chapter 4. Xx


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone,

Quick turn around this time, I should be able to get another chapter out before I leave on Tuesday. I may be able to post while I'm away but I'll probably come up with heaps more ideas and start 20 new fics and forget get writers block for this one! Lol

Please remember I don't claim to be an expert on Navy protocol or medical for that matter. Lol it's fiction right?

Disclaimer: I didn't create the characters of Sea Patrol nor do I claim town them, unfortunately.

From Chapter 4.

"Kate, if it's not one thing it's another. I'm beginning to wonder if this is what you really want, I know this is a lot all at once and you love your job but I think you need some time to think. I know I want you, I thought you wanted to be with me but maybe we want different things. "

He couldn't wait for her response, he was too scared of what it would be. He turned at left, he closed the door with a thud. She sat there and wondered if she had pushed too far, he had to understand she was just looking out for everyone involved. She got up and opened Charlie's door slightly and peered in, she was fast asleep. She walked over to the bed and got in, she held Charlie close as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

Charlotte

Chapter 5

The next morning Jim arrived to pick up Charlie, Kate opened the door and tried to talk to him. He ignored her and walked in and headed straight for Charlie's room. Charlie looked up from her colouring and screamed out his name.

"Uncle Jim!"

She ran over to him and leapt into his arms.

"Hey trouble, are you ready to go?"

He put her down and she ran out into the lounge room to grab her bag. Kate took the opportunity to attempt to start a conversation.

"Jim, I..."

He walked to the front door still ignoring her.

"Coming Charlie?"

She bounced to the door and waived to Kate.

"Bye Mummy..."

Kate stood there and waved back, she was deep in thought, all she could think about was Jim and whether it was really over.

Jim drove her to kindy and walked her in, one of the teachers approached him.

"Hi I'm Celeste Walters, you must be Charlie's Dad, Mike?"

He was thrown for a minute and hesitated, he quickly corrected her.

"Oh no sorry, I'm Jim umm an old friend of Kate's, Charlie's Mother."

Celeste's cheeks turned a tomato red.

"Oh I'm sorry! I'm new! That's awkward."

"It's ok, easy mistake! She's all Kate though!"

Celeste laughed nervously.

"Well can I expect you from now on?"

Jim hesitated, he didn't want to have to explain the whole story.

"Ahh, on and off..."

He knelt down to Charlie and gave her a hug.

"Have a good day, I'll pick you up later."

Charlie nodded and gave him a hi-five, she ran off to hang up her bag. Jim stood back up.

"Well good to meet you!"

"Oh before you go I'll just need to put you into the system. We take the names of approved people who can pick up the kids. Can I just sight your ID?"

"Yeah, no worries."

Jim took out his wallet and handed her his driver's licence, Celeste smiled and wrote down his details.

"No worries, well, see you round Jim."

Jim got in his car and drove to the hospital.

He knocked on Mike's door carrying a bag of food, Mike was surprised to see him.

"Hey, sorry to drop by but I thought you might want some real food!"

Jim placed the bag in front of Mike, he eagerly opened it and took a deep breath in through his nose.

"Oh steak egg and bacon sanga, just what the doctor ordered."

Jim was uneasy, he sat beside Mike's bed and looked at his arm.

"So how's the burns?"

Mike glanced at his left arm.

"Ah, yeah ok, they have to do this thing with the skin let's just say it's not good!"

Jim cringed at the thought, there was an awkward silence.

"So umm, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

Mike had a mouthful of sandwich, he swallowed and glanced at Jim.

"Oh, this was to butter me up huh?"

Jim winced slightly, he hoped he wasn't that transparent.

"Did it work?"

Mike glanced at him and wiped the sauce from his face.

"Yeah, go ahead..."

Jim's expression turned into one of distress.

"Well, apparently Maxine has warned Kate that starting something up with may cause some issues, the press are circling.."

Mike took another bite of the sandwich, he didn't think it'd be a topic of this nature. He continued to scoff down on the sandwich, he didn't really want to be a part of this conversation, he hoped that Jim would do most of the talking.

"Mike, I know we're okay now but trust me you're probably the last person I want to be discussing this with, no offence."

Mike sighed and put down the sandwich, he could tell he was genuinely concerned and it was obviously affecting their relationship if he was coming to him. Mike knew the truth wasn't going to be the option Jim wanted hear.

"It's okay Jim, I get it, this isn't easy for you either and I know you care for her else you wouldn't be here. Look, I don't think that this is going to blow over any time soon. A navy ship was sunk but all the tabloid crap in between won't hold up in the long run but it's Kate's job and reputation on the line. These stories will always be out there and you know how much Kate likes the rules."

Jim nodded and looked at his feet.

"Yeah I know, I said that I think she needed time to think, but I'm worried that she's going to think about it too much and she won't choose me."

Mike looked at Jim's depressed state.

"Jim, you may just have to wait, I don't think Kate would buy into all this, I think she's just thinking about Charlie..."

Jim sighed.

"I hope so..."

Jim got up to leave.

"Jim?"

He turned at the door, Mike gave him a slight smile.

"Just be patient, she'll come round."

Jim left, Mike sat there and continued to eat his sandwich, he laughed to himself between bites. Who would have thought that he'd be giving relationship advice to Jim about Kate.

Navcom.

Maxine knocked on Kate's door, she looked up from her computer.

"Maxine, what's happening?"

Maxine walked over to Kate's desk and sat next to her.

"So, I have good news and not so good news..."

Kate stopped typing on her computer and turned to face Maxine.

"The good news?"

"Well we can find anymore ties to this Harry guy, so hopefully he and his crew were a one off or copy cat..."

Kate sighed with relief, then remembered there was bad news.

"Okay, so the bad?"

Maxine flipped over her tablet and gave it to Kate, she looked at the screen and let out a frustrated groan.

It was a news page with a picture of Jim dropping off Charlie to kindy. The headline read – 'Love boat disaster'. The article went on to highlight that Jim was playing Dad to Charlie while Mike was in the hospital because of him. Maxine sighed.

"Kate, this is exactly what I was taking about..."

Kate's defences went up.

"Ma'am we're not even together! He was doing me a favour!"

Maxine's tone of voice matched Kate's.

"You need to look at it from every angle Kate, do you think people want to believe that or do they want to believe some love triangle drama?"

Kate flipped the cover over the tablet and chucked it on to the desk out of frustration, she leant back in her chair and started at Maxine.

"Ok Ma'am, what do you want me to do then?"

Kate raised an eyebrow, she wasn't meaning to sound so disrespectful but she felt cornered. Maxine wasn't impressed at the attitude she was receiving but she kept calm, she knew Kate was under a lot of stress, she wasn't normally so insolent. She knew that her next suggestion could push her over the edge.

"I think it's best that you don't have any contact with Captain Roth."

Kate's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what Maxine was suggesting. Maxine tried to diffuse Kate's reaction.

"Well at least until this whole thing is settled."

Kate got up and walked around her office, she thought about Jim's reaction from the previous night when she said that she didn't think that they should have a relationship at this point in time. She then imagined the conversation that would unfold if she said that they shouldn't have any contact, it scared her. She knew that she would lose him forever, she decided she had to defend herself, defend Jim. She spun back around to face Maxine. She took a deep breath in, she needed to be calm, be rational.

"Ma'am, this whole thing could take weeks, months to be out of the spotlight and then there could be an inquest..."

She was getting worked up, the thought of losing Jim really terrified her, she realised how much Jim meant to her, how much she actually wanted this to work. She let her emotions out, she didn't care anymore, she had done so much for the Navy and this is how they were repaying her.

"This is absolute bullshit, I can't put my life on hold because of some gossip...Ma'am"

Kate looked up at Maxine worried about what her reaction would be, she looked concerned. Kate realised she was attacking the wrong person, she let out a frustrated huff and sat back down.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I realise you're just doing your job and..."

Maxine wasn't offended, she felt for Kate, she reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know Kate, look it's your life, it's just my professional advice!"

Maxine decided to leave it for now, she had enough on her mind, she left Kate's office. Kate picked up her phone and messaged Jim.

"Can you meet me at Navcom."

30 Minutes later Jim knocked on Kate's door.

"Kate?"

He walked into the office and sensed the tension.

"Are you done thinking?"

Kate didn't answer, she picked up the tablet and handed it to him. He grabbed it and read the article and frowned.

"Has Maxine seen this?"

Kate nodded.

"She was the one to show me..."

Jim sighed and closed the tablet, he sat down and handed it back to her.

"This isn't good is it?"

Kate shook her head.

"This is why I was hesitant Jim, it's got nothing to do with us, it's got everything to do with Charlie, it's probably best I pick up her tonight."

Jim nodded, Mike had helped him understand but he was still afraid that he wasn't enough, that she would still side with her career. He tried to get through to her one more time.

"I understand Kate, look I don't want Charlie to have to go through this but at the same time we can't let them win, we deserve a life..."

Kate smiled and put a hand on Jim's cheek, she tried to be positive.

"Please Jim, I'm just asking that you wait a little longer..."

Jim nodded slightly, it wasn't exactly the answer he wanted but there was still hope.

"I've waited 5 years Kate..."

He picked up her hand and kissed it and stood up and left.

Kate sat at her desk a little confused. She looked at the tablet sitting on her desk, she reached over and reopened it. She tapped on the Google app started typing. She typed in 'Kate McGregor, Mike Flynn, HMAS Hammersley.' She winced and partially closed her eyes as she pushed search, results poured in. Some articles were old, featuring them both and their successful missions however the top results were from the recent attack. Some of them hailing Mike a hero for getting everyone off the boat safely and others about their relationship. She scrolled down the page, he eyes widened as they got worse, she clicked on one of the them. It described Kate being unfaithful to Mike, the hero, with Jim and now they were playing happy families as he was miserable in hospital. She clicked back and clicked on another on about Charlie, it contained a photo of Jim hugging her at kindy. The headline read "The Real Captain?"

Kate clenched her fists as she skimmed the article, she folded up her tablet and ran out of Navcom and went to the hospital.

Kate ran to Mike's room, she stopped at his door and approached the bed slowly.

"I have to show you something but I need you to keep in mind it's stupid internet chatter."

Mike looked up from his book puzzled.

"If it's stupid internet chatter why do I care?"

Kate sat down beside him, she handed him the tablet. She could see his eyes move over the screen. He finished it and folded the cover over the tablet, he looked at her with a frustrated look. Kate knew he wasn't happy.

"Mike, I'm sorry, I know it's getting worse! I've asked Jim to wait, but I don't want Charlie to hear any of this!"

Mike didn't really know what to say.

"Maybe we should keep her home for a while, till this blows over, I don't want her hearing stuff from parents, you know how impressionable she is..."

Mike nodded.

"Who's going to look after her?"

She paused, they had no one but Jim.

"I'm sorry about this! I'll figure something out!"

She got up to leave, Mike could tell that she was dealing with a lot, he tried to make her feel better.

"It'll be ok Kate..."

She turned and gave him a half hearted smile. Mike hated seeing her like this, she didn't deserve it. Part of him wanted to be mad at her, it would be easier but he knew this wasn't her fault.

"Kate, wait..."

She stopped at the door and turned, Mike gestured for her to sit back down, she hesitated.

"I don't care about all the gossip, I don't want anyone to get hurt including Jim, he cares about you a lot. You should know that he came to see me..."

Kate was intrigued, she re-entered the room and sat next to him.

"What for?"

"He wanted to talk about all this publicity/gossip stuff. He wants what's best for you but he's scared you'll choose the navy over him. He came to ask me how bad it was and what I think he should do..."

Kate held Mike's hand for a moment.

"What did you tell him?"

"Not much, I just said you were trying to protect Charlie..."

Kate felt terrible, she was just trying to protect Charlie and Mike to an extent but in doing so she forgot about protecting Jim. She knew was that she had to do something, something to prove to him that she wanted to be with him.

Kate left and headed back to Navcom. She knocked Maxine's door, she looked up from her paperwork. Kate slid into the chair in front of her desk, Maxine could tell Kate was disheartened.

"Everything ok?"

Kate took a moment trying to think of away to approach this.

"I don't know what to do..."

Maxine glanced at her over her computer, she didn't want to keep arguing with her.

"Kate, you didn't seem to like my advice before..."

Kate pulled her chair closer to the desk.

"I know, but can I talk to you as a friend right now and not my Boss?"

Maxine shut her laptop, she could tell Kate didn't want to fight either. She walked around her desk and sat next to her.

"Ok, boss hat off, friend hat on..."

Kate took a deep breath in.

"Mike and I are in a good place, we get along, we agree on most parenting things, he even likes Jim now..."

Kate glanced at Maxine with a guilty look on her face.

"I told you before we weren't together and it technically was true but we're wanting to be together...I mean, I was going to marry the man 5 years ago, it feels like we're still the same people, the feelings are still there and we have lost so much time already..."

Maxine completely understood but she didn't really know what she could do to help.

"So it's just all this tabloid rubbish that's stopping you?"

Kate nodded.

"Mostly!"

"So what do you need me for?"

Kate glanced at Maxine then looked away, she knew this was a big ask.

"Do you think they would let me make a statement?"

Maxine titled her head.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Kate didn't care if it was a 'good' idea, she was getting desperate, doing anything was better than doing nothing.

"I think either way I look guilty, if I can try and explain the situation maybe they won't make it so nasty..."

Maxine walked back around her desk and sat down, Kate could see she was considering it. Kate stood up.

"Please Maxine, don't make me beg."

Maxine didn't think it was the best idea but she had no other suggestions or answers.

"I can talk to Fleet Command, but I'm not promising anything..."

Kate's face lit up.

"Thanks Maxine, I'm going to pick up Charlie now but give me a call straight after you speak to Fleet Command."

"No worries..."

Charlie's Kindergarten.

Kate walked into pick up Charlie, she felt the other parents eyes on her. Celeste came out and greeted her.

"Ms McGregor, I was expecting your friend Jim..."

Kate looked around and saw the other parents whispering.

"Ah, no it's me today! Umm, I've got the rest of the week off, so I thought we'd spend some time together."

"Oh ok, but..."

Celeste looked at Kate's nervous expression, she looked around and noticed the other parent's dirty looks. She decided not to ask any other questions.

"No problem, well have a good week!"

Charlie ran up to Kate and hugged her.

"Mummy, where's Jim?"

Kate looked around.

"Don't you want me to pick you up?!"

She grabbed Charlie's hand and hurried out of the kindy. She got into the car and her phone rang, she fished it out of her bag.

"Kate McGregor... oh hi Max, how did you go? Oh good... yeah I'm happy to do that! I'll come back in."

Charlie crossed her arms.

"Do you have to go back to work?"

Kate didn't want a tantrum, she tried to think of something that would diffuse the situation.

"Yeah, but only for an hour I promise! Hey, what if we get Jim to make you chicken nuggets?

Charlie bounced up and down in her seat, Kate looked in her rear view mirror.

"I take that as a yes?"

Kate smiled and connected her phone to the car system and pressed on Jim's name.

"Katie?"

Charlie leant forward as far as her restrain would let her, she yelled from the backseat.

"No, it's Charlie!"

"Charlie?! How are you?"

"I'm good! Guess what?!"

"What?"

"Mum said that she's going to get you to make me chicken nuggets cos I have to go to work with her."

Jim laughed, Kate cleared her throat.

"Well apparently my cooking isn't a treat anymore!"

"Oh, I thought that you didn't..."

"Jim I'll explain everything tonight, please just don't give up on us..."

"Kate, I didn't think it was me that was having doubts."

Kate glanced back at Charlie, she didn't want her to hear the conversation that was unfolding.

"Jim, I'll text you when I'm leaving Navcom, just meet me at my house and I'll explain everything. I promise."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

Charlie called out from the back seat.

"Bye Uncle Jim!"

Navcom.

Charlie was watching videos on Kate's iPad. Maxine was sitting at Kate's desk.

"Okay, so they have cleared you making a statement but they want me to approve it. It needs to be to the point, they don't like this gossip anymore than you but they don't want it to be aggressive and make things worse."

"I'll try and do a quick draft now..."

45 minutes later Kate was standing in front of Maxine reading her statement.  
Maxine sat at her desk nodding along.

"Well it gets the point across, I'm happy with that and it doesn't make anyone look bad. When do you want to do this?

"ASAP..."

"Ok I'll make some calls, now go home and see you tomorrow."

Kate pulled into her driveway, Jim pulled up behind her. She got out and smiled at him.

"That was fast!"

He was confused about her cheery disposition, they walked into her house, he put the groceries on the bench.

"So you wanna tell me what's going on?"

Kate turned Charlie.

"You wanna go watch some TV sweetie?"

Charlie nodded and ran to the lounge.

Kate started to unpack the groceries.

"Fleet Command are allowing me to make a statement."

Jim helped her unpack, he looked at her curiously.

"About what?"

She stopped and turned towards him.

"Well everything, I umm made the mistake of Googling us..."

Jim looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"Kate McGregor, you are the last person I'd expect to Google herself..."

Kate laughed and shook her head.

"It was ridiculous! The crap these people come up with! I don't even want to talk about it as it is so stupid, but anyway I am just going to tell the truth."

Jim stopped unpacking the groceries and walked over to her and stood close.

"And what's the truth?"

Kate smiled and took his hand in hers.

"Well first of all that none of this gossip is true, you, Mike and I are all friends. That you and I were together before and then I was with Mike but that ended way before you came back and..."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

Kate wrapped her arms around him.

"And now we're back together!"

She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him.

"I'm sorry about before Jim, you know I was just trying to protect everyone, it's not that I don't..."

Jim smiled and kissed her.

"It's ok, you don't need to explain..."

He kissed her again, he looked out the corner of his eye and he noticed Charlie staring at them, he pulled away.

"Uncle Jim, why are you kissing Mummy?"

Jim knelt down next to her.

"Well I really like Kate, ah Mummy, we actually used to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

She looked at him inquisitively.

"Before you had to go away?

Jim nodded.

"Geez, you remember everything don't you?"

She smiled and nodded.

"So, if it's ok with you I'd like to be her boyfriend again..."

A smiled appeared on her face, she jumped on to his knee.

"Does that mean I get chicken nuggets every night?!"

They laughed.

The next morning Kate stood in front of the media outside Navcom. She stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat.

"Thank you all for coming today. I called this press meeting to clarify some things. My name is Kate McGregor, I am press liaison for Navcom in Cairns. I used to be the Executive Officer on HMAS Hammersley. Due to recent events there have been questions around my personal life and some articles written that are completely untrue. I do not normally invite this attention to my personal life however I have asked permission from the RAN to make this statement as some of these allegations imply that crew members, including myself have broken some rules. To answer some previous questions, I did have a relationship with Commander Flynn, we did not break any rules. We were together while he was posted on shore and I was on Hammersley, we also share a daughter. I did not cheat on him with Captain Roth. I will make this very clear, I do not appreciate stories being written about my child. She is 4, she does not deserve this. If things continue to be written that are false I will take legal action. I will answer questions within reason."

A reporter called out.

"Ms McGregor, are you dating Captain Roth?"

She nodded slightly.

"As of yesterday, yes."

"Did you previously have a relationship with him?"

Kate's heart was racing, she tried to stayed calm.

"Nearly 5 years ago now..."

"So are you denying you broke the non fraternization rule?"

Maxine looked a bit uneasy, she stepped forward.

"I think Ms McGregor made things very clear and she has been more than accommodating, thank you that will be all..."

Kate and Maxine walked back to Navcom. Kate exhaled and flopped on to her chair, Maxine pat her on the shoulder.

"Let's hope that calms everything down!"

Kate crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, it's not as fun if someone has set it straight!"

Back at Kate's house.

Jim was on his phone while Charlie was having a nap. A message flashed on his screen.

"It's done, it'll be up on the Navy news site soon if you want to watch!"

Jim smiled and replied.

"Hope it went ok!"

Jim opened the internet and went to the RAN news site, he kept refreshing the page, nothing. He opened another window and slowly typed in, James Roth, Kate McGregor, Mike Flynn. He closed his eyes and pressed search, he scanned through the articles, they were mostly about their relationships. He spotted one with Charlie's name, he frowned but click on it. He read it and sat there for a moment, it was questioning the paternity of Charlie. He was trying to do the maths in his head, he shook his head at the ridiculous thought, he went back to the RAN page and watched Kate's statement. He smiled as she announced to the world that they were an item. He shut the laptop and went to check on Charlie, he slowly opened the door and peered his head in. She was playing with her toys on the floor, he smiled and shut the door. He sat back in the couch and imagined his kids with Kate, he was startled as his phone beeped again.

"Did you see it?"

He smiled as he replied.

"Yes, no taking it back now! You've told the whole world!"

Later that afternoon Kate came bursting through the door with bottles of champagne. Jim and Charlie were cuddled on the couch watching TV.

"Mummy's home!"

Charlie jumped up and hugged her.

"Did you miss me?"

Charlie nodded and put on a sad face.

"But it's ok cos Jim kept me company!"

"Go wash up and you can help with dinner then!"

Charlie ran off, Kate sat on the couch. Jim stared and smiled at her.

"What?"

He stared into her eyes, Kate felt a little uncomfortable, she looked at him out the corner of her eye. He moved closer and took her hand in his.

"Let's have a baby?!"

Kate laughed hysterically she looked back at Jim, he wasn't laughing. She stopped immediately.

"Oh, you're serious?"

Jim looked hurt.

"Why not?"

Kate looked at him sympathetically and rubbed his arm.

"Sorry Jim, just wasn't expecting it that's all..."

A large goofy grin came across his face.

"I know we'd be doing things out of order but I mean how cute would 2 if them be and I always thought that a smaller age gap was better!"

Kate kissed him, she loved that he thought about those kinds of things.

"We've only been official for 24 hours."

"Yes Kate, but if this mess hadn't happened..."

She ran her hand over his cheek.

"Jim, I know, you just surprised me that's all!"

Charlie came running back into the room.

"Are you having another baby mummy?"

Jim looked at Kate and laughed.

"She doesn't miss anything does she?"

Kate shook her head.

"Welcome to my world!"

She looked at Charlie.

"Not right now darling..."

She looked at Jim and smiled.

"But maybe one day..."

Charlie jumped on to the couch.

"Soon?"

Kate cleared her throat wanting to change the subject.

"Ah, what are we having for dinner Jim?"

Jim laughed at Kate's attempt to dodge Charlie's question.

"C'mon Charlie, let's see what we can make!"

Jim picked her up and walked into the kitchen, Kate lay back on the couch and smiled to herself thinking about having another baby.

They were sitting at the table having dinner.

"So Charlie, what do you want for your birthday?"

Charlie put down her fork.

"Anything Moana!"

They all laughed. Jim looked at Kate.

"Should have guessed huh?"

He turned to Charlie.

"So you'll be umm 17 right?"

Charlie giggled.

"No 5 silly! But I was born early! Mummy said I couldn't wait to meet her!"

Jim looked at Kate, she nodded.

"Yeah, 2 months, she gave us a bit of a scare actually!"

Kate hopped up from the table.

"Oh I forgot, look what I found today?!"

Kate grabbed her hand bag and took out a bear wearing a Navy uniform, Charlie squealed.

"Now Hammy has a friend!"

Kate pointed to the name patch.

"Look, she's even got your name!"

She hugged it and ran over to Jim.

"Look, she's named after me!"

Jim smiled, he read the patch 'C.J McGregor'.

"You better go introduce them!"

Charlie ran off to her room, Jim laughed.

"She's the cutest! So what's the J stand for?

Kate took a sip of her bubbly.

"Oh umm Jane, after Mike's mum, I figured he gave me the surname so there should be a bit of his family in there too..."

Charlie came running back in with both of the bears and jumped on Jim's lap.

"They're BFF now!"

Kate smiled at the interaction between Jim and Charlie.

"Oh speaking of BFF, Mike gets out of the hospital tomorrow, can you give me a hand with her?"

"Of course...hey why don't I offer for him to come and stay with me? You've got your hands full and I don't know if he'll be able to look after Charlie by himself yet and that way he can still spend time with her."

Kate laughed out loud at the idea, Jim playfully hit her on the leg.

"Hey, what's with laughing at all my ideas today?!"

She smiled and looked at him doubtfully.

"You're serious? Won't that be awkward? "

Jim shook his head and shrugged.

"Only if we make it awkward?"

Kate got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Ok well you can ask him, if I do he will think I've gone mad!"

The next morning Jim and Mike walked into Jim's house, Mike looked around stunned.

"Geez mate, I thought you weren't working at the moment?"

Jim laughed and looked around.

"Yeah well, I believe the defence force is claiming it as 'services rendered'."

Mike kept looking around gobsmacked.

"Right, well remind me that if I ever need to be blown up again to do it with the SAS."

Jim put Mike's bags in his spare room. They stood in the lounge silent, Jim broke the silence and laughed nervously.

"Now I told Kate this wouldn't be awkward, we can't prove her right! We know how much she likes to be right!"

They both laughed. Kate and Charlie walked in the front door.

"Hello?"

Jim called out.

"We're in the lounge."

Charlie came running in.

"Daddy!"

Mike leant down to hug her, Kate walked up behind her.

"Gentle sweetie, remember Daddy has a sore arm!"

Charlie nodded.

"Mummy says you're staying with Uncle Jim!"

Mike ruffled her hair.

"Yeah that's right, I need a bit of help cos of my arm so Uncle Jim is going to help me!"

Charlie tugged on his hand.

"I can help too!"

Kate watched the 3 people she loved most in the world interact. Maybe this was going to work after all?

End of Chapter 5.

Don't forget to review! xx


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone,

Literally sitting on the airport lounge in Sydney finishing this chapter. Depending on how good the wifi is I'll try and post while I'm away.

Disclaimer: don't sue me, I don't own these characters or claim to create them!

Charlotte

Chapter 6

She snapped back to reality.

"Ok guys, Mummy's off to work!"

She kissed Charlie goodbye, then Jim. She walked up to Mike and gave him a hug.

"I'm glad you're ok!"

She whispered in his ear.

"And play nice!"

Mike chuckled and gave her a slight push out the door.

Kate sat at her desk and tapped her pen on her notepad day dreaming about her future with Jim. She jumped as Maxine knocked on her door.

"Come in..."

Maxine entered Kate's office and sat down.

"Ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"Well it looks like your statement worked, no more new stories!"

Kate smiled satisfied.

"Yeah, guess the truth isn't as interesting!"

"So, Mike's out of hospital?"

Kate nodded and laughed.

"Yeah, he's staying with Jim."

Maxine put her hand over her mouth to try and stop herself from laughing, Kate nodded and laughed too.

"Ah yeah, don't ask me how that happened, but they seem to be mates and this way they both get to spend time with Charlie."

"Funny how things work out!"

There was an awkward pause, Kate wasn't sure why Maxine was still in her office.

"Ahh, did you need anything else Ma'am?"

Maxine cleared her throat.

"Ah yeah, actually there is something I need to talk to you about."

Kate's face dropped, she felt a sense of déjà vu. Maxine looked around the office and avoided eye contact, Kate became more worried as she noticed Maxine's unusual behaviour.

"Ma'am, I've had enough surprises for a lifetime, what is it!?"

Maxine stood up and paced around the office, Kate became more anxious, she stood up.

"Ma'am?!"

Maxine continued to pace.

"So obviously we are a patrol boat down at the moment and out of desperation Fleet Command had ordered repairs on HMAS Bundaberg. She's ready to sail and they're in need of a CO..."

Kate's eyes followed Maxine around the office, she didn't understand what she was getting at. Maxine glanced back at Kate and sighed, she hoped Kate had figured out the hints so she wasn't going to have to ask, or rather tell her what was going to happen. She stopped pacing and looked her directly in the eye.

"Kate, they want, well the need you, to be the CO."

Kate sat back down and stared into space for a minute trying to comprehend what Maxine had just ordered.

"Ma'am, I haven't been at sea for nearly 5 years!"

Maxine sat and nodded, she knew that Kate wasn't going to be thrilled.

"They know that Kate but you're also a very capable person and an excellent officer. They've just got you on general patrol for now, just to ease you back into it, plus there was no one else."

Kate scoffed still not believing what she was being told.

"Do they realise that I have a 5 year old and a limited babysitter roster?"

Maxine sighed again, she had told them all of this.

"Well, you have Jim now and Mike to an extent so...look I did go into bat for you but they're stuck! Look it would only be for a month or so, until either Mike is better or they can find a replacement!"

Kate wouldn't have thought she would be disappointed to go back to sea.

"You sail tomorrow Kate..."

Kate looked at Maxine bewildered.

"Tomorrow?!"

Maxine nodded and headed for the door trying to make a quick escape.

"Yeah, sorry! Look you can have the rest of the day off to organize yourself, at least you'll have you're old crew so there will be some familiarity!"

Kate started to gather up her things shaking her head, this was unbelievable but so typical of the navy.

"Ok, well 'thanks' isn't really the word I want to use!"

Maxine laughed nervously.

"Thanks will do fine Kate..."

Kate flung open the door to Jim's house and looked around for everyone, she made her way out to the deck. Mike and Jim were eating lunch while Charlie was in the spa.

"Such a hard life for you guys hey?"

They spun round surprised to see her, Jim got up and gave her a kiss.

"What are you doing home?!"

Kate flopped down on to a chair and took a bite out of Jim's sandwich.

"So...I have a new assignment."

Mike scooted his chair closer.

"How much more can they chuck at you right now?"

Kate looked at Mike and raised an eyebrow.

"HMAS Bundaberg..."

Jim was lost he had no idea what they meant, Mike was also confused.

"But it was decommissioned years ago..."

"Yeah, it was, but since our girl went down they are down a patrol boat so..."

Kate looked at Mike intensely, waiting for him to catch on, he realised what she was implying. He looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh... they haven't?"

Kate looked unimpressed and nodded. Jim cleared his throat.

"Ah, I'm lost..."

Kate felt terrible, she had totally excluded him from the conversation, she turned around and took his hand in hers.

"I have been assigned as CO of HMAS Bundaberg..."

There was silence. Kate placed her hand on his arm.

"Jim?"

He looked at her not knowing whether she was pleased with this new assignment.

"Umm, are you happy about it?"

Kate shook her head, of course she wasn't.

"No! It's frustrating just as we have... and Charlie. But they have no one else, Maxine said it's a month tops."

Jim shrugged, not thinking it was such a big deal. He thought Kate might be pleased for the break at sea after all the drama.

"Well at least they might owe you one then?!"

Kate scoffed.

"Since when do they Navy repay favours?"

He looked over at Charlie.

"How you gonna tell her?"

Kate sighed.

"Got anything up your sleeve better than chicken nuggets?"

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Chocolate mousse!"

They all laughed, Kate stopped.

"Well you better get in the kitchen cos I sail tomorrow!"

Jim shook his head.

"Typical Navy!"

Jim got up and kissed her on the forehead. Mike couldn't help for feeling a little responsible that she was being sent back out.

"Sorry Kate..."

Kate looked at Mike puzzled.

"Mike you don't need to be sorry, it's not your fault this happened. I'm actually more concerned about you two, are you guys gonna be alright?"

Mike laughed.

"Kate, we're fine! Don't worry about us! What do you think is gonna happen?"

Kate shrugged and laughed.

"I dunno, I guess it's just strange you and Jim being friends, I mean how you guys used to..."

Mike nodded.

"I know but I think we've all grown up from a few years ago plus we all want what's best for Charlie..."

Kate rested her hand on his and smiled.

The next morning, Home Port 0600.

Kate stood on deck of the refurbished HMAS Bundaberg, Mike, Jim and Charlie had come to see her off. They boarded the boat and looked around while Kate waited for her crew. 2Dads and Bird approached the boat and saw Kate; they ran up and hugged her, she was surprised by their reaction.

"Didn't think that you'd be that happy to see me?! Didn't Maxine tell you I was coming back?"

2Dads gave her a salute.

"Nope! She told us that we were getting a real hard ass."

Kate crossed her arms and frowned at him and put on her best CO voice.

"Well, you haven't served under me for 5 years, things may have changed?!"

2Dads stood there with a terrified look on his face not knowing how to react, Kate couldn't keep a straight face for more than 5 seconds, she burst out laughing.

"Relax 2Dads! I haven't changed that much!"

2Dads sighed with relief, he patted her on the shoulder and walked away, Bird stepped forward and hugged Kate.

"Good to have you back Ma'am, it hasn't been the same without you!"

Kate held Bird by the shoulders.

"I've missed you guys too, I'm sorry we haven't caught up as much as I'd like!"

Bird smiled, she understood.

"It's ok Kate, you're at Navcom with a family and we're at sea. I find it hard enough to have a social life, I can't imagine trying to juggle it with a child!"

Bird bent down to say hi to Charlie.

"Hi Charlie, do you remember me? Auntie Bird?"

Charlie smiled nervously.

"Kinda!"

She hid behind Jim's leg, they laughed. Mike knelt down beside her.

"Not like you to be shy!"

They heard fast footsteps approach behind them, they turned to see who was running late. A huge smile appeared on Kate's face.

"Nikki?"

She hugged Kate nearly bowling her over.

"Reporting for duty, Boss!"

She ran aboard the ship. Kate gave Charlie a hug.

"Gonna miss you!"

Charlie wrapped her arms around Kate's neck.

"Miss you more!"

She gave Jim a kiss on the cheek.

"See you soon!"

He nodded and took off her cap and kissed her on the lips, she sunk into it forgetting she was in public. She heard Charlie laugh and pulled away, her cheeks turned a rosy red. Jim put her cap back on her head and straightened it.

"Stay safe! I love you..."

Kate paused, they hadn't said the 4 letter word out loud. She smiled and looked in to his eyes.

"I love you too..."

Jim placed his hand on her cheek, Kate closed her eyes and wished she didn't have to leave, she sighed and gave Charlie another hug.

They boarded the boat, Kate and Nikki made their way up to the bridge. Kate sat in the captains chair and glanced back at her old team thinking of the it past adventures. Nikki stood beside her, she smiled and looked up at her.

"Nik, I can't believe you're back! What have you been up to?"

Nikki laughed.

"Ah, excuse me don't try and put the focus on me! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

Kate smiled and rolled her eyes, she knew she'd have to explain sooner rather than later.

"Yeah, well it's a bit of a long story!"

Nikki sat at the EOD and turned towards Kate.

"Well, we've got a lot of time!"

Kate knew she wasn't going to get out of it, she handed RO a piece of paper.

"Head for these coordinates RO..."

RO hesitated and cleared his throat, Kate looked at him.

"Do we have a problem RO?"

RO shook his head.

"Ah no Ma'am, it's just.."

Kate turned and picked up the PA.

"Dutchy and Swain to the bridge at the rush..."

They ran up the stairs, she turned to address the crew on the bridge.

"Does anyone mind if I go pay my respects?"

They shook their heads.

"No Ma'am..."

Kate turned to RO.

"Ok, proceed Robert."

An hour later RO knocked on Kate's cabin door.

"Ah Ma'am, we're approaching the coordinates now..."

"Very good, thanks Robert. When we get there can we please stop for a moment..."

He nodded and left. Kate walked out of her cabin and out in to the deck, she leant on the railing and sighed. Dutchy walked out and stood beside her.

"Everything ok Boss?"

Kate nodded as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Yeah, I just can't believe she's gone..."

He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a bit of a squeeze.

"Yeah well, everyone's alive, that's all that matters right?"

She nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Just give me a minute would you?"

Dutchy went back inside, Kate closed her eyes and threw a white rose into the sea.

She went back inside to the bridge, the phone rang.

"Hello HMAS Hammer, I mean Bundaberg, Commander McGregor speaking."

She could hear a laugh on the other end of the phone, it was Maxine.

"It's ok Kate, it will take some getting used to."

Kate laughed too.

"Yeah, what can I do for you Maxine?"

"Ah can you give Jim a call something about school enrolment due?!"

"Oh shit, sorry Ma'am, thanks!"

Kate hung up the phone.

"Nikki, you have the ship?"

She nodded.

"I have the ship Ma'am."

Kate rushed to her cabin and picked up the phone.

"Jim, it's Kate..."

"Hi, Charlie's school for next year called they need her enrolment form and a copy of her birth certificate. I would have asked Mike but he's at the hospital and they said they needed it today else she would lose her position!"

"I totally forgot with all this other stuff going on!"

"It's ok Kate, I can do it..."

Kate paused for a moment.

"It's ok Jim, I'll get Mike to do it, I'm pretty sure he knows where all the forms are..."

"They did say it was urgent, they need it in the next hour. It's ok Kate, I can do it! Where have you put her forms and birth certificate?"

"Ahh, they should be together in the study in the top drawer..."

"No worries, leave it to me..."

"Jim?

"Yeah?

"I love you..."

"Love you too Kate, see you soon!"

Kate hung up the phone and was deep in thought, she was startled as Nikki knocked on the door with a couple of brews. Kate opened the door.

"Ah, just what I needed!"

Nikki sipped her brew and sat on Kate's rack.

"So, you wanna give me the short version but not missing any of the juicy details?"

Kate laughed and took a mouth full of her coffee and cringed.

"Ugh, one good thing about a Navcom, the coffee machine!"

Nikki rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Kate, no stalling."

Kate paused and took a breath in.

"Where do I start? So Jim and I were engaged about 5 years ago, he was killed on a boat that contained a dirty bomb that was set up by a double agent, Madelaine Cruse. After everything I decided to take a shore posting and Mike and I gave it ago. I got pregnant, a total surprise, we were struggling, it wasn't working we tried to make it work for Charlie's sake but after a few years we couldn't do it anymore."

Kate looked at her feet it was the first time she had actually explained it to anyone, she hadn't really discussed it with anyone as most of her friends were on Hammersley so they found out from Mike. They didn't end terribly so she trusted him to explain but it still felt strange. Nikki reached out and put a hand on Kate's knee.

"And Jim's alive?"

Kate looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah, he was working with Madelaine, well he thought he was. She was bought down and leaked his name to the rest of the terrorist cell. He decided to go into Witness Protection, for everyone's safety. He returned a few weeks ago and after alot of tears and yelling we've managed to get back to where we were, it's crazy but it's like he's never left! Charlie adores him and Mike is staying with him while he recovers."

Nikki looked dumbfounded.

"Wow, I mean, this should be made into a TV show or something!"

Kate laughed at the idea, Nikki sat there processing the story, she gripped Kate's arm.

"Hold up, did you say Jim was staying with Mike?"

Kate giggled.

"Yeah, they're mates, it's so weird Nik! But somehow it all works..."

Nikki took another sip of her brew.

"I can't believe I didn't hear any of this on the navy grape vine!"

Kate laughed.

"Yeah, where have you been, did you see I actually had to make a press release about my own life!"

Nikki laughed.

"I'll have to google that later!"

Kate's house.

Jim rummaged through the desk drawers and pulled out a bunch of paperwork. He shuffled through it and found the enrolment form and Charlie's birth certificate. He sat down and put the birth certificate under the enrolment form. He started to fill it out. Name - Charlotte Jane McGregor. DOB - 12/05/12. Mother's Name - Kate McGregor. Occupation: Commander – RAN. Fathers Name - Michael Flynn.

Occupation - Commander RAN. He laughed to himself, no one was gonna mess with this kid. Alternate Contact. He paused and gathered up the papers and headed home.

Mike was home watching TV, Jim sat down next to him and cleared his throat.

"Ah, Kate asked me to fill out Charlie's school enrolment form..."

Mike looked at him strangely, him. Priced his expression and didn't want him to think he was being excluded.

"Oh, you were at the hospital and they need it like yesterday. I just wanted to know if it was ok that I put my details down for an alternate contact?"

"Ah yeah, no worries..."

Jim finished filling out the forms, Mike picked them up and scanned them over.

"Did you get her birth certificate?"

Jim nodded.

"Yeah, it's the last page..."

Before Mike could say anything Jim grabbed the papers.

"Well I'd better scan these and send them off, it can't be my fault Charlie doesn't get into school!"

Back on Hammersley.

Nikki was sitting at the radar.

"Boss, we have a radar contact..."

Kate walked over to the radar.

"Nikki, prepare a boarding party, I wanna search all boats in this area, this is the area the Hammersley went down. If we suspect anything I want a full search. Maxine said there were no signs of any links but I want to be 100% sure."

"Yes Ma'am..."

Nikki left the bridge, Dutchy and 2Dads went to follow. She reached out and stopped them.

"You guys ok?"

They both nodded. Dutchy put a hand on Kate's shoulder.

"We gotta get back on the horse sometime Ma'am!"

She nodded and squeezed his hand.

"Extra plates, no risks!"

They both nodded and left the bridge. Kate walked out into the deck with the binoculars, she was anxious. She watched the RHIB pull alongside the boat, she held her breath for a second as she watched the crew jumped aboard. The vessels crew tried to resist, she immediately picked up her radio.

"Charlie 81 to X-ray 81, everything ok?"

Static. Kate picked up the binoculars, they were struggling against the crew. She turned to Charge panicked.

"Charge, take the second RHIB to assist."

He nodded and left the bridge, she wasn't taking any chances, this would not be a repeat of their last boarding.

The second RHIB launched and headed for the boat. She watched them board and assist the other team, they managed to control the situation.

"Charlie 91 to Bravo 91, sit rep?"

"Bravo 91, we have contained the crew we have found weapons on board. Should we apprehend the crew and tow back to base?"

Kate sighed with relief.

"Yes thanks Bravo 91, see you soon."

The apprehended crew were tired up in austere, Kate and Dutchy entered to speak to them. Kate walked up to the captain.

"What's your name?"

He sat there and stared at her, she leant in closer.

"You're name..."

No response. Dutchy reached out and put his hand in his pocket and took out his wallet, he opened it and handed the ID to Kate.

"Samuel Walters... so Samuel do you want to explain the weapons in your boat?"

No response. Kate shook her head.

"Fine, the AFP will be waiting for you when we dock."

Navcom.

Kate knocked on Maxine's door, she walked in and sat in front of her desk.

"Kate, the serial numbers match the ones that were recovered from the boat that brought down Hammersley."

Kate slumped over and put her head in her hands.

"It's not over is it?"

Maxine shook her head.

"You're gonna have to go back out there, we're going to search all boats in the area, even some of the smaller islands..."

"I know! Could I have an hour to go see Charlie Ma'am?"

Maxine nodded.

"An hour Kate!"

Kate ran in to Jim's house.

"Hello?"

Mike called out from the lounge.

"We're in here!"

Kate ran into the lounge room and scooped up Charlie.

"Mummy! You're back!"

She squeezed her tight.

"I'm only here for an hour baby!"

She put Charlie back down and turned to Mike.

"The weapons that blew up Hammersley, we found more on a ship today, they're still out there!"

Mike froze for a moment.

"What?"

Kate didn't want to worry Mike, he had always been overprotective of her.

"Kate, you can't..."

Kate placed a hand on his arm trying to reassure him.

"Mike, we will be fine and you know we don't have a choice!"

He picked up his keys and wallet.

"I'm gonna come talk to Maxine..."

Kate shot his a disapproving look, Charlie latched onto Kate's leg.

"Mummy, don't go..."

Kate picked her up.

"You can come to Navcom and Daddy can take you home ok?"

Navcom.

Kate and Mike were in with Maxine, Charlie was sitting with Rachel.

"Max, you can't expect Kate to handle this..."

Maxine stood up from her desk.

"Mike we don't get to choose the jobs, anyway Kate knows this!"

She looked at Kate for backup.

"You know the procedure!"

Kate nodded agreeing with Maxine, she rolled her eyes towards Mike.

"He insisted he come speak to you Ma'am."

Kate's phone rang, she glanced at it, it was a number she didn't recognise and she declined the call. Maxine stood closer to Mike, they were all friends but he needed to look at this professionally. She understood his concerns but this was the job, Kate was more than capable of managing this.

"Look Mike, I know this is fresh but we just need to do our job! We won't take any risks now we know that are ruthless. Kate is capable of doing this!"

Mike's phone rang, he was frustrated and ignored the call.

"I know she is but..."

Maxine glared at Mike.

"Mike!"

Mike knew he had to stop, he let out a aggravated huff, they both left the office, he turned to Kate.

"Please be careful."

Jim's house.

His phone rang.

"Jim Roth..."

"Hi Mr Roth, it's Candice King here from Cairns Junior Academy... "

"Oh hi, what can I help you with?"

"Look I've tried calling Kate and Mike but their phones go straight to voicemail..."

"Yeah, they're in a meeting at the moment, something I can help you with?"

"Maybe, I'm assuming you know them well as you were listed as the alternate contact."

Jim nodded forgetting her was on the phone.

"Ah yeah, we are..."

"Good well hopefully you can clear this up, I see on the enrolment form here that the names actually don't match..."

Jim was confused, he filled them out himself.

"Ah okay..."

"Maybe it's just me not being able to read hand writing but I just wanted to make sure the details match and we have to right student matched up to the birth certificate."

"Yeah , no worries."

"So, can I confirm that Kate McGregor and Michael Flynn are the parents of Charlotte James McGregor."

Jim paused, he frantically searched through the paperwork looking for Charlie's birth certificate.

"Hello? Mr Roth? Are you there?"

"Ah yeah sorry, did you say James?"

"Yeah..."

Jim found the certificate and held it up in front of him.

"Ah yes, I can confirm it's Charlotte James McGregor."

"Thanks, we will see you next semester then!"

Jim hung up the phone still staring at the certificate, he sat down rereading Charlie's name over and over. He glanced over and spotted Charlie's bears sitting on the bench, he slammed his fist on the table

"Damn it Kate!"

He jumped up and grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

End Chapter 6.

Hope you have enjoyed the story so far, don't forget to review! Xx


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone,

Managed to get another chapter out while getting a tan lol.

Thanks for the feedback!

LittleRose, I'll explain some things at the end of the chapter. Don't want to spoil anything incase some didn't get where the story was heading lol but PS you really need to join so I can reply to your feedback haha, you always have good questions!

Disclaimer: don't own them, didn't create them so don't sue!

Im uploading using the app for the first time so I apologise if the formatting is weird.

From Chapter 6

"Ah yes, I can confirm it's Charlotte James McGregor."

"Thanks, we will see you next semester then!"

Jim hung up the phone still starting at the certificate, he sat down rereading Charlie's name. He glanced over and spotted Charlie's bears sitting on the bench, he slammed his fist on the table

"Damn it Kate!"

He jumped up and grabbed his keys and ran out the door .

End Chapter 6

Charlotte

Chapter 7

Home Port.

Kate was standing on the dock with Charlie and Mike. She saw Jim hurrying towards them, she was puzzled to see him. She smiled, she thought he'd come to see her off again but as he approached she could see he wasn't hurrying to say goodbye, he looked mad, really mad. Charlie spotted him and ran up to him and leapt into his arms.

"Uncle Jim!"

He tried to looked happy to see her, he gave her a squeeze and put her back down. Kate could tell there was something wrong.

"Jim?! What are you doing here?"

Jim looked at Mike trying to keep his cool.

"Can we have a minute?"

Mike gave Kate an uneasy look and took Charlie's hand.

"C'mon sweetie...let go have a look at the other boats."

Jim watched as they walked away. Once they were out of ear shot his expression changed into one of anger and confusion. He raised his voice a little and held up Charlie's birth certificate and shoved it in front of Kate's face.

"What is this?"

Kate tried to focus on the piece of paper.

"Ahh..."

He waived it in front if her, she became annoyed and snatched the paper out of his hand. She realised what it was and what he had realised, she swallowed hard and whispered.

"It's Charlie's birth certificate?"

She felt sick, this was the moment she had dreaded ever since he had returned, she had no idea how she was going to deal with this.

"Kate, you told me her middle name was Jane..."

Kate inhaled sharply, she couldn't say anything, she was frozen by panic. He grabbed the certificate out of her hand and pointed to Charlie's name.

"This says her middle name James, you said it was Jane, did you just make up the story about Mike's mum?"

Kate stood there, trying not to cry, trying not to scream, still nothing came out of her mouth. Jim was getting angrier at her silence.

"For Gods sake please tell me it's not for the reason I think it is..."

Kate saw Charlie running up to her out the corner of her eye.

"Mummy, one last hug before we go!"

She picked her up hugged her, she looked at Jim, tears threatening to overflow. He glared at her then looked at Charlie, he waited for her to say something, anything. Kate still didn't know what to say, Mike approached them watching their odd behaviour. Jim couldn't believe she wasn't even denying it, he shook his head and walked off, he stopped and turned.

"Oh by the way she got in, she starts next semester..."

Kate stood there holding Charlie she watched as Jim walked off.

"Where's Uncle Jim going?"

Mike hurried over after seeing Jim walk off, he placed a hand on Kate's shoulder.

"Kate?"

She passed him the certificate.

"He knows..."

They were startled as Maxine ran up to them.

"There's been a bit of a development, we may not send you back out today, go home and I'll give you a call later..."

Kate sighed, she would have rather been sailed.

"I'd better go talk to him..."

Mike grabbed her hand.

"You don't need to do this alone..."

She smiled.

"Thanks."

They walked into Jim's house cautiously, he was on the deck drinking. Kate put her hand out to stop Mike.

"Can you just let me..."

He nodded. She walked out on to the deck and sat down, Jim glanced over and shook his head.

"Seriously?"

Kate sat down nervously, she was about to speak when Jim spun his chair around, he was holding Charlie's bear, Hammy.

"Don't bother denying it, I've done the maths. Bloody hell, the media figured it out before I did, I feel like a complete idiot!"

Kate sat there in silence watching Jim stare at the bear, he suddenly threw it at her, she caught it and held it against her chest.

"Was that supposed to be some kind of clue?"

She glanced down at Hammy and slowly met his gaze.

"Jim, what do you want me to say?"

He shot a look at her, was she serious? He wanted an explanation.

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as I came back?"

Kate took a deep breath in, how was she supposed to explain this, she never thought he was coming back.

"Jim, we thought you were dead, 5 years is a long time..."

Jim was too angry to listen to her reasoning, he started to raise his voice.

"So you just told her he was her father?"

Kate closed her eyes trying to think, she knew that any reason she gave wasn't going to be good enough.

"It wasn't that simple Jim, we were together, in the beginning we didn't think we were going to end, little own you coming back and when she called him Daddy..."

Tears were streaming down Kate's face, Jim got up and walked to the railing of the deck, he stood there staring out into the ocean. She followed and put a hand on his back.

"Jim, we would have eventually told her, told her about her father the hero, but how do you explain that to a 2 year old?"

Jim spun round, he had tears in his eyes.

"So instead I just didn't exist?"

His phone rang, he walked over to the table and declined the call.

"Kate, how you could you do this?"

Mike walked out on to the deck, he had to help, she wasn't the only guilty one.

"Jim, it's not all her fault!"

It took every ounce of his strength not to punch Mike, he walked over to Mike and stood inches from him.

"You! I actually thought you and I were mates! Bet you were laughing behind my back thinking how stupid I was!"

Mike was about to retaliate when Charlie came running out.

"Why are you yelling? Why are you upset Mummy?"

She gathered up Charlie and took her into the lounge. Jim's phone rang again, he answered it.

"Jim Roth... yes, no but I can't... I understand but it's not... ok, I'll be there."

Kate walked back on to the deck.

"Jim?"

He hung up the phone and chucked it onto the couch.

"Bloody brilliant, I'm being call back on duty..."

Kate walked up to him.

"Well maybe some time apart might..."

Jim shook his head frustrated and interrupted.

"I'm being posted with you!"

Kate froze for a moment, she sighed.

"Jim, we need to talk about this then, we have to work together."

"I don't think there's much to talk about Kate..."

Jim went to pack his bag. Kate and Mike stood there, Charlie ran back out to the deck.

"Why is everyone yelling?"

Kate knelt down.

"It's ok hunny, just adult stuff..."

Charlie ran after Jim, she cautiously opened his door and walked into his room.

"Uncle Jim..."

He stood there for a moment to compose himself, he turned around and forced a smiled on his face, she jumped on to his bed.

"Where are you going?"

He sat on the bed with her.

"I have to go help Mummy..."

Charlie looked sad.

"Why are you mad at Mummy?"

Jim shook his head.

"Nothing you need to worry about..."

"But she's making you cry! That's not very nice!"

Jim wiped the tears from his face at sat closer to her.

"Charlie, sometimes people make bad decisions..."

Kate walked into Jim's room and heard their conversation.

"Jim!"

Kate ushered Charlie out of the room. He stood up in defence.

"I wasn't going to say anything!"

"Jim, is there anything I can say that will make this better?"

Jim sat on the bed defeated.

"Kate, I know you forgave me for disappearing and I know this would have gone a lot differently if I was here but can't you understand how much this hurts? I had to go away to protect you, you didn't have to go along with this lie, there was a choice..."

"Jim, we didn't plan this, it sounds terrible but it just happened. At the beginning we thought we would last, she was only 13 months when she referred to him as dad, how did you expect me to explain that?"

Jim remembered the story that she had told him about them and how they should have broken up earlier.

"But you said that you guys should have ended it sooner, if you guys were rocky why did you go along with it?"

Kate sat down on the bed next to him.

"I don't know..."

Jim got off the bed, his anger had returned.

"It's not good enough Kate, so at what point were you going to bring her world crashing down by telling her that Mike wasn't her father?"

Kate didn't have an answer, Jim knew what that meant, she may not have ever told her. He was now livid.

"That's what I thought...I need you to go Kate and take him with you..."

Kate stood up and glanced over to him, she was going to speak but thought better of it. She could tell he was in a lot pain, she hated that she had caused it but she knew she needed to give him time to process it.

Kate's house.

Mike and Kate sat in the lounge while Charlie played in her room. Mike glanced over at Kate's distressed state, he cleared his throat.

"Maybe I should go home?"

Kate reached out and put a hand on his arm.

"Please, I'd really like you to stay..."

Mike glanced at Kate, they were both to blame for this, neither of them corrected Charlie when she called him 'Dada' the first time and then it just kept happening. Kate always insisted that not being Charlie's biological father didn't make him less her Dad. But now her freak dad had returned maybe he needed to give them some space to sort this out. He reached over and touched her hand.

"Maybe if I backed off a bit Jim would..."

Kate's disheartened look turned into one of panic, she squeezed his hand.

"Mike, no! I never want you to feel like you're not a huge part of Charlie's life. You didn't make me do this, this was just as much my decision as yours. You know you will always be her Daddy right?"

"I know Kate, but.."

Kate gave him a "don't you even think about it" look.

"It might not matter now anyway, I think I might have lost him..."

Kate leant back into the couch and put her hands over her face. Mike moved closer.

"Maybe if we try and look at it from his point of view we might be able to sort this out."

Kate could help but smile, Mike truly wanted everyone to be happy.

"Of course but...Mike I'm not choosing between you or him."

"Kate I would never ask you to do that..."

"I know, but I'm scared he might?!"

Mike squeezed her hand a little trying to reassure her. He cared so much for Charlie and Kate and he genuinely felt bad bad for Jim, they had somehow become friends and things were going well but now with this lapse in judgement may have ruined everything. He didn't want to Kate to worry anymore that she was.

"He's a good guy Kate..."

She looked up and smiled at him.

"So are you Mike Flynn! Thank you for sticking by me and Charlie!"

Mike wrapped his arm around her and she leant on his shoulder.

"Of course!"

The next morning.

Kate had barely any sleep, she got out of bed and found Mike and Charlie in the kitchen. Her phone rang, she rushed over to see if was Jim, she looked disappointed as she saw Navcom's number.

"Kate McGregor..."

"Kate, it's Maxine, we need you to sail today, I'm assuming Jim got the call last night too?"

"Ah yeah, he'll be join me?"

"Yeah, look upstairs aren't aware of your relationship, I haven't said anything, I know you guys will be professional, actually let me talk to him..."

Kate froze, he obviously wasn't with her, how was she supposed to explain all of this to Maxine, it was only going to cause more trouble and she didn't want more people involved so she lied.

"Ah he's in the shower, we'll come and see you before we leave..."

She hung up before Maxine could ask anything else, she sent Jim a message.

"Maxine wants to see us before we sail, please don't mention anything..."

Navcom.

Jim was in with Maxine, Kate walked in to the main office. Maxine spotted her and knocked on the glass, she signalled for Kate to come to her office. Kate's stomach flipped, she really had hoped Jim hadn't said anything. She poked her head in the door hoping it wasn't going to turn into a long briefing.

"Kate, come in, I thought you two would have come in together..."

She tried to make eye contact with Jim.

"Ah, I had some stuff to sort out with Charlie actually..."

Maxine nodded not sensing there was anything wrong, she cleared her throat.

"So, I trust you both know why you're here?"

Kate looked at Jim nervously. Maxine rolled her eyes.

"I take it you can work together? I know you guys are involved but I just need you to say it out loud."

They both nodded, Jim cleared his throat.

"We can work professionally Ma'am!"

"Good, we've got enough going on to worry about our two leaders not having their head in the game..."

Jim stood up. Kate put her hand out to stop him.

"Ah Ma'am don't you think it's strange they're sending Jim on this particular mission? I mean if they're involved with the ring that Madelaine was in don't you think it's a bit of a conflict?"

Maxine shrugged.

"Not my call Kate, I'm sure you're both equipped to handle this..."

Jim nodded, he wanted to get out of there ASAP to avoid more awkward conversations.

"Is that all Ma'am?"

She nodded, Jim left leaving Kate sitting there.

"Anything else Kate?"

She hesitated, Maxine could tell something was bothering her, Kate went to leave.

"Commander McGregor..."

She turned, she knew what that tone of voice meant, she slowly walked back to the chair and sat trying to avoid Maxine's glare. They sat in silence for a minute, Kate could feel Maxine's eyes on her.

"Ahh, ok so..."

Kate shook her head, she couldn't do this now.

"Don't worry... look, I'm sure it'll be fine, never mind, it's all good!"

Kate ran out of the office before Maxine could stop her, she caught up to Jim, she grabbed him by the arm.

"Jim, are you going to talk to me? Look at me?!"

Jim kept walking. Maxine watched them through the window, she knew Kate was lying when she said they were 'all good', she sighed.

"Can't I just have one day without any drama?!"

HMAS Bundaberg.

Kate knocked on Jim's door, he opened it shirtless, she tried not to stare. She cleared her throat.

"Ah, you and your team settled in?"

Jim continued to unpack his things barely acknowledging her presence.

"Yep..."

Kate entered his cabin and shut the door, Jim turned round to face her.

"Kate, please..."

Kate stood there, her heart sank as she saw Jim's face. He had obviously been crying, his eyes were red and puffy, she had never seen him so venerable.

"Kate, I gave you time now I need some time..."

There was a knock on the door, they immediately stopped talking. Kim opened the door, his second in command was standing there. He quickly turned and continued unpacking so his colleague wouldn't see his puffy face.

"Ah, Harrison, have you met Commander McGregor?"

Kate turned and smiled, she had to get her head right, she had a job to do. She shook his hand.

"Good to meet you..."

He nodded slightly .

"Likewise Ma'am."

Harrison could feel the tension, he knew a bit about Jim and Kate's history as they had served together previously. He tried to clear the air.

"Hope he's not giving you any trouble? I can sort him out, we go way back, I know all his secrets!"

He laughed as Jim turned and shoved him out the door, Kate followed. They walked down the corridor together, Kate broke the silence.

"So you guys are good mates huh?"

Harrison nodded.

"Well, before he went away ..."

Kate looked at her feet, she wondered how much Jim had told his crew and if they blamed her for him disappearing. Harrison noticed Kate's nervousness.

"It's ok Commander, he's not a kiss and tell kinda bloke, all I know is that he must really love you to do what he did!"

A tear rolled down Kate's cheek, she quickly wiped it away but it wasn't quick enough, he saw it.

"Sorry Commander, I didn't mean to..."

Kate put her hand up to stop him apologising.

"It's fine, umm I'm just gonna go get a brew, do you want one?"

He shook his head.

"Thanks anyway, I umm better get out if your hair, you must have slot of planning to do..."

Harrison headed to his cabin and Kate went into the galley. She searched around in the cupboards, moving stuff about. Bird was preparing lunch.

"Ah Ma'am? Can I help you find something?"

Kate had her head in a cupboard.

"Do you have anything sweet? Chocolate? Lollies?"

She sounded agitated, Bird laughed. Kate took her head out of a cupboard and gave her an unimpressed look.

"Well I can't have wine can I?"

Bird laughed again.

"What's the matter Ma'am?"

Kate shook her head and went up to the bridge, she stood with her arms crossed and looked out the window. Nikki noticed her agitated state, she walked up behind her.

"Boss, is everything ok?"

Kate ignored her for a second hoping she would drop it. Nikki knew her better, she stepped closer.

"Kate?"

Kate sighed, she didn't really want anyone to know but if it was going to affect operation performance and create tension Nikki at least deserved to know.

"My cabin, bring something sweet..."

Kate walked off, Nikki looked confused and headed to her cabin to get her lolly stash. She knocked on Kate's cabin door and entered and sat on her rack. Nikki looked at her oddly, she had never seen Kate so on edge, she immediately opened the lollies and offered her some, she took a handful and chucked them in to her mouth.

"Kate..."

Kate swallowed her mouthful of lollies.

"Jim is Charlie's biological father..."

Kate exhaled, she was sort of relieved to say it to someone else. Nikki sat there gobsmacked, she took a handful of lollies and chucked them in her mouth, Kate did the same.

"Wine would have been better..."

Nikki nodded.

"No shit!"

Nikki realised that she had cursed.

"Sorry Boss, but..."

Kate let out a little laugh.

"It's ok..."

Nikki sat there staring at Kate, she didn't know if she was allowed to ask questions.

"Ah yeah... so umm does Jim know?"

Kate nodded.

"He found out an hour ago..."

Nikki's jaw dropped.

"And he's on the boat, with you, with us, now?"

Kate nodded.

"Kate you need to sort this it now! This could be bad!"

"I tried, he won't speak to me!"

Nikki jumped up at put her hands on her hips.

"Since when does Kate McGregor take no for an answer?!"

Nikki handed her a red snake. Kate nodded, got up and chucked it in her mouth and left her cabin.

She entered Jim's cabin without knocking and started talking.

"Jim we have to work together, we have to figure this out. We have 2 hours till we get to this island they want us to search..."

Jim sat down at his desk, Kate sat on his rack. He chucked his phone on the desk. Kate could see he was looking at pictures of him and Charlie, she picked up his phone and smiled flicking through the pictures.

"How did I not know...Kate, I need to hear you say it."

Kate took a deep breath in. She had already said it to Nikki minutes before but having to say it to Jim was harder.

"Charlotte's middle name is James because we wanted to honour you... "

Kate felt sick, the blood rushed from her head, she felt like she was going to pass out.

"Because..."

Jim locked eyes with her, tears were building up in his eyes.

"Because she is your daughter..."

Jim slumped back into his chair, Kate knelt next to him and placed her hand on his knee. Jim looked at the expression on Kate's face, he knew she was sorry but he couldn't just let it slide. He knew he loved her and Charlie but he wasn't ready to forgive her.

"I can't do this right now, we're at work. I've got to focus on work..."

Kate sighed, he was right, she stopped and turned at the door.

"I love you James Roth..."

He looked up at her.

"I know..."

Kate opened the door to leave and was startled by Harrison standing in the doorway, she quickly shut the door so he wouldn't see Jim in his venerable state.

"Oh sorry Ma'am I was just looking for Jim..."

"He's in there, but umm maybe give him a minute."

Harrison nodded and walked off, she leant on it for a minute and closed her eyes. Nikki came running up to her, Kate shook her head and walked off.

A few hours later the Bundaberg docked at a neighbouring island. Jim and his team were to take a RHIB to the other island as they didn't want to alert the militants with a Navy ship. Jim briefed his team on deck and was about to leave, Kate ran up behind him and grabbed his hand.

"Please be careful..."

He turned and looked at her, he gave her a blank look and began to walk off, she re gripped his hand and squeezed it, she held on till he let her hand fall.

Nikki wrapped her arm around Kate.

"Let's go get that wine..."

"Ok just 1, I've got some paperwork to do, Maxine needs it by 5..."

Kate and Nikki sat at the bar, Kate swirled her wine around in her glass.

"I don't know if he will forgive me Nik...:

Nikki out her hand on Kate's arm.

"Just give him a bit of time, he has to understand, you forgave him for faking his death for god's sake..."

Kate took a mouth full of wine.

"Yeah, but he had a point when he said that he did that to protect me, why did I do that to him? I didn't have to lie..."

"But you were protecting your child..."

Kate sighed and looked at her watch, she swallowed the rest of her glass.

"I'd better got finish this paperwork..."

Kate was sitting in her cabin trying to concentrate, it had been 30 minutes and all she had typed was the date. All she could see was the devastated look on Jim's face. Dutchy knocked on the door and poked his head in.

"Boss, Captain Roth is on the radio..."

Kate raced up to the bridge and grabbed the radio.

"Zulu Alpha Yankee this is Papa 91 receiving..."

Jim came over the radio.

"This is Zulu Alpha Yankee, we have found a base camp, we were not able to raid it we were outnumbered , they have various weapons on site. We have taken some photos hoping they can be enhanced for serial numbers."

They heard gun fire in the background.

"Zulu Alpha Yankee, what was that?"

Silence.

"Zulu Alpha Yankee to Papa91, we need back up, we're being fired upon, we're going to try and make it back to the RHIB."

Kate was relieved to hear Jim's voice.

"Zulu Alpha Yankee this is Papa 91, we're on our way!"

Nikki launched the other RHIB with a second shore party. Kate stood on deck looking through the binoculars, she could see the SAS team carrying 2 of their crew. The Hammersley crew arrived on shore and fired their weapons to cover them. They got back in the RHIBs and made their way back to the boat.

Kate met them on deck, Jim had a flesh wound. She rushed over to him and called out for Swain. They brought them down to the ward room. Kate stood above Jim trying not to lose it.

"Alright everyone out, let Swain and Bird work, Nikki can you make best speed for home."

Nikki nodded and went to the bridge.

Kate sat next to Jim and held his hand.

"Jim m, what happened?"

He loosened his grip and removed his hand.

"I'm fine Kate, it's just a flesh wound."

Jim tried to get up, she pushed him back down.

"Jim, let Swain take a look."

Jim sat up and gave her a dirty look, he raised his voice a little.

"I'm fine! I've been hurt a lot worse!"

He got up and snatched the bandage from Swain and left the room, Swain gave Kate a concerned look.

"It's ok Swain, just let him go..."

Charlie's Kindy.

Mike walked through the gate looking for Charlie. He saw Sam one of the usual staff members, he waived as she approached.

"Commander Flynn..."

"Sam, I've told you Mike is fine."

"Mike, I think you're wife has already collected Charlie..."

Mike frowned, confused, there was a lot wrong with that sentence.

"Ah, she's not my wife but that doesn't matter and that's impossible Kate is out at sea."

Sam waived over Celeste.

"Celeste this is Mike, Charlotte McGregor's Dad."

They smiled and shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Mike, umm Charlie was collected by Maxine an hour ago."

Mike was concerned, this was normally pre arranged, something wasn't right.

"Maxine?"

Celeste looked anxious.

"Ah, she was on the list and I checked her ID, was that not correct?"

Sam shook her head.

"It's ok Celeste you followed protocol..."

Mike took out his phone and called Maxine.

"Max, it's Mike..."

"Oh Mike, I wanted to talk to you actually about Kate.."

Mike interrupted.

"Later Max, did you pick up Charlie today..."

"No, we hadn't arranged anything..."

Mike hung up the phone in a panic.

"Maxine didn't pick her up! Do you have security cameras?"

Sam and Mike rushed inside. Mike's phone rang, it was Maxine.

"Sorry Max, Charlie's gone from child care, someone claiming to be you picked her up..."

Sam rewound the cameras, Mike pointed to the screen.

"There! Damn it, she's wearing a hat!"

"Mike, are you still there?!"

"Max there's nothing on the cameras...I'll call you back..."

Celeste walked up behind them trying to see the footage, mike turned towards her.

"Celeste, what did this woman look like?"

"Ah average height, slim, blonde hair, she was wearing sunglasses and a hat... I'm so sorry Mike..."

She was obviously distressed, Mike put a hand on Celeste's shoulder.

"It's ok it's not your fault... ah what about the car park? Is there a camera out there?"

Sam nodded and brought up the camera. Mike got out his phone and wrote down the number plate.

"Thanks, I'll be in touch..."

Mike drove to the Cairns Police station. He burst through the door looking stressed. An officer approached the counter.

"Sir, I'm Snr Constable Watts, how can I help you..."

Mike took a breath in trying to compose himself.

"My name is Mike Flynn, I think my daughter has been taken..."

"Ok Sir, what makes you think that?"

He took out his notepad.

"I went to pick her up from child care and she had been picked up by someone claiming to be a friend of mine..."

"Ok Sir, have you contacted family, sometimes..."

Mike interrupted abruptly.

"We have no family here... there are 3 people in this whole country who would pick her up and it wasn't any of them..."

Mike started to get agitated.

"Ok, just calm down Sir, can I have the child's name..."

"Charlotte McGregor..."

"Ok and her mother's name..."

"Kate McGregor..."

"Her phone number..."

"0457689103... but you won't be able to reach her she's at sea..."

The officer looked at him strangely, Mike took out his Navy ID.

"We're both in the navy, she's currently out on a patrol while I'm at home..."

The officer stared at Mike for a minute.

"Mike Flynn, you're the captain of Hammersley, the one that..."

The officer trailed off realising that it was going to be inappropriate, Mike nodded.

"Yes, look I have no idea why someone would take her, Kate normally has a shore posting and..."

Mike paused for a moment.

"Jim..."

Snr Constable Watts looked puzzled at Mike's hesitation.

"Sorry Sir, who is Jim?"

Mike looked around the station.

"Can we go into an office..."

Watts nodded and showed him in, they sat in an interview room.

"So Jim, who is he and what has he got to do with this?"

Mike leant on the desk wondering how much he should divulge. He shook his head, his little girl was missing, he had to trust the police.

"Look, it's complicated and a long story but Jim, Kate's partner returned a few weeks ago from Witness Protection. He was undercover on and SAS mission to uncover a terrorist weapons smuggling ring. He was the one that was 'killed' disarming a bomb in the harbor..."

Snr Constable Watts leant back on his chair trying to process what Mike was saying, he suddenly had a lightbulb moment.

"Hang on, I remember that! I was in the academy, it's all that was talked about for months."

Mike leant in closer.

"Well, when the Hammersley went down the militants referenced him and the double agent, Madelaine Cruise, who as far as I know is in jail..."

Snr Constable Watts brow furrowed.

"So what are you getting at Commander Flynn..."

"A woman collected Charlotte from Kindy, here this is her number plate...it could have been Madelaine..."

He got out his phone and wrote down the number plate. His phone rang, it was Kate he declined the call.

"Please can you just look into it, maybe she's out? I'm going to find out what I can from my side. Here's my card."

Snr Constable Watts nodded and took his card, he gave Mike his. Mike raced out of the police station and drove to Navcom. He ran into Maxine's office. Kate called again, he ignored it.

"Mike any news?"

He shook his head.

"Kate keeps calling I don't know what to do...I've been to the cops, I have a feeling this is all to do with the whole Madelaine, Jim, the weapons smuggling ring, I can feel it..."

"Mike let's not make this bigger than..."

He wasn't going to let her downplay this.

"Max, why else? Jim is back, the guy who blew up the Hammersley knew that he was back plus he said Madelaine said I was a smart man, she's gotta be out if there's at least gotta be known accomplices working for her. I know you have clearance to check that! Please!"

Maxine exhaled and sat at her desk and glanced up at him.

"I'll make some calls... go wait in Kate's office..."

Mike paced around Kate's office, his phone rang. It wasn't a number her recognised.

"Mike Flynn..."

"Commander, it's Snr Constable Watts, we checked with the rental company, the car was hired by a Maxine White, does that name ring a bell?"

"Damn it, I thought so!"

"Commander?"

"That's my bosses name, her house was broken into, we think they were looking to copy ID, it was the ID that was used to collect Charlotte..."

Mikes phone beeped, it was call waiting, he glanced at his phone and sighed,it was Kate.

"I'm gonna have to call you back..."

He tried to put on a casual voice as he answered Kate's call.

"Hi Kate..."

"Mike I've called twice why have you ignored my calls?"

She sounded a little irritated, Mike tried to be as vague as possible.

"Sorry, had some meetings..."

"You're at Navcom? Where's Charlie I want to speak to my baby..."

"Ahh, she's just in the bathroom..."

At that moment Maxine burst into Kate's office.

"Mike, she's out!"

Mike covered the speaker of his phone.

"Max, it's Kate..."

Maxine cringed.

"Shit! Sorry..."

Mike put the phone back to his ear.

"Mike? Mike who's out, was that Maxine..."

"Kate, I've gotta go!"

He hung up the phone.

"You've gotta tell her Mike."

Mike turned his phone to silent.

"I panicked, look hopefully she'll be back tonight? Surly her knowing while she's out at sea..."

Kate's office phone rang. Maxine went to answer it, Mike put his hand out to stop her. Maxine gave Mike a stern look, he slowly moved his hand.

"Navcom Commander White speaking... Kate, ah hi..."

Maxine put the phone on speaker and they both sat at her desk.

"Maxine, is Mike there... what is going on? I can tell something's up, he's a terrible liar!"

Maxine rolled her eyes and laughed at Mike.

"That's why you guys made a great team!"

"Mike?"

Mike cleared his throat.

"Kate, everything is fine, I'll see you soon!"

"Mike! Maxine, is he lying?"

Mike gave Maxine an all knowing look.

"Kate, we'll see you tonight!"

Kate sat in her cabin trying to make sense of what was happening. She raced up to the bridge.

"Nik, make best speed for home..."

She nodded and stood next to her and lowered her voice.

"Everything ok? Is Jim..."

Kate was focused on the sea trying not to validate all the awful thoughts spinning in her head.

"I dunno, some things wrong, I can feel it..."

End Chapter 7. Xx

Please don't forget to review.

Ok LittleRose, I have some answers for you! Just a side note, I always enjoy your feedback :) you really make me think! I'm not being sarcastic or negative either, I know sometime people can take things the wrong way via text.

Ok so obviously now Charlie's is Jim's daughter. I had them have that instant friendly relationship as a bit of a clue to the paternity. I guess everyone experiences are different as part of her behaviour was from my own experience. I have a step son, when I got together with his dad he was 6 and we got along very well straight away and he actually asked when he was getting a brother or sister hahaha. But I'm also happy to classify my fan fics as fantasy cos I'm happy to admit some parts of them really are haha.

As I briefly explained in the chapter Mike and Kate decision to raise her as Mike's was a mutual decision, I will admit that in real life it would be a bad decision but for the sake of the story it went down this way! As for Charlie's middle name, James, not only does it make it blatantly obvious to Jim that Charlie is his but I like the idea of using names differently. My stepsons middle name is actually his grandma's name which is usually a female name and I think there's an actress that's actually called her girl James so I thought why not? Also having her as a McGregor not a McGregor-Flynn was more of a clue. But anyway hope that explains some things :) please keep reading and reviewing! Xx


	8. Chapter 8

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it's taken so long, it turns out a week long work conference in Queensland does not have as much down time as I expected. But I'll make it up with this longer chapter.

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback...

Warning: this chapter is dramatic, Kate has a lot of back and forth ' is he or isn't he' moments, you'll see what I mean. It's not perfect but if I don't publish it now I'll attempt to rewrite it 10 times and I'll never get the chapter out LOL. I also know that a lot of the events that unfold in this chapter the Navy wouldn't agree to, so I apologise for that!

I think little rose is right and I need my own category "complete fantasy". Hahaha

Disclaimer: I didn't create the characters nor do I own them.

Charlotte

Chapter 8

Navcom.

Mike and Maxine were sitting in her office trying to make sense of everything. Maxine shuffled though the piles of paperwork on her desk.

"Okay, so Harry, I don't really see how he is connected. I mean he seemed to be rogue in all of this. He didn't fit Madelaine's plan, well except for blowing up the Hammersley. She was smart, he was too spontaneous, too irrational for her crew."

Mike rubbed his face with his hands, his brain was scattered but he had to focus for Charlie's sake.

"Okay, so the other guys they brought in?"

Maxine shuffled through a few more pages.

"Yeah, Samuel Walters and his crew. They claim that they didn't know what they were transporting. He says he needed the cash and a woman matching Madelaine's description paid them to transport the weapons to Australia."

Mike raised an eyebrow, he was sceptical.

"And do we believe him?"

Maxine shrugged.

"It's not up to us, they're being held until we can get some more answers. I think at this point we can't trust anyone..."

Mike looked up at Maxine with a concerned look.

"Jim?"

Maxine hesitated.

"Mike, I don't think we should get into this again!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah okay, okay..."

A few hours later the Bundaberg has docked.

Kate was frantically packing up her things when her phone beeped, it was Mike.

"Meet us at Navcom ASAP, bring Jim too..."

Kate frowned, something was definitely up. She went and knocked on Jim's door and poked her head in, he was packing his bag.

"Ah, Maxine wants a chat if that's ok?"

He didn't turn around but she saw him nod a little.

"Do you wanna catch a lift together?"

He shook his head.

"I've got my bike..."

Kate stood there waiting for an invitation to join him, it didn't come, she sighed.

"Okay, I'll see you there then..."

Maxine and Mike waited in her office for Jim and Kate to arrive, they were both tense, wondering how they were going to break the news. Kate rushed into Navcom, she rushed into Maxine's office not bothering to knock. Maxine and Mike stood up, Maxine looked around for Jim.

"Ah, where's Captain Roth?"

Kate paused, wondering how she was going to explain but at that moment Jim walked in.

"Sorry, had to change my bandage..."

Maxine looked at Jim's badly wrapped arm, he noticed her concerned look.

"It's fine, I can deal with it later."

Maxine and Mike sat down, there was an awkward silence. Kate looked to Mike then to Maxine, they both looked so grim.

'Mike, what's going on?"

She watched as Mike glanced over to Maxine, she started to get agitated, their hesitation was making her more anxious. Jim sat down next to Kate noticing their apprehension, he turned to her.

"Why does my gut tell me that this isn't a de brief of our patrol?"

Mike moved his chair closer to Kate's and rested his hand on her chair, slightly touching her arm. He looked up at her and cleared his throat.

"Kate..."

Kate's stomach dropped, she knew that tone in his voice, something was wrong, something bad. If that didn't give it away the look on his face said it all, she stood up, she was now beginning to freak out.

"Mike, just bloody tell me what's going on!?"

Maxine cleared her throat and glanced at Mike, she could tell he couldn't form the words tell her. Maxine walked over to her and placed her hand on Kate's shoulder.

"Kate, Charlie is missing..."

Kate stood their frozen, Mike reached out and tried to touch her hand, she snatched it away.

"What?"

Mike attempted to hold her hand again.

"She was taken from kindy..."

Kate was trying to process what she had been told. Jim stood up and guided her to her chair, she sat staring into space. Jim glanced at her and stood closer to Mike, he tried to stay calm but he had too many emotions built up, he yelled in his face.

"She was taken 3 hours ago and you didn't tell us?"

Mike didn't want to retaliate, he knew that Jim had every right to be angry and worried but he held his ground.

"Yes, we decided that it..."

Jim interrupted him.

"I don't think YOU should be making the decisions when there are more people involved..."

Mike and Jim stood there, eyes locked on each other. Maxine was puzzled as to why Jim was getting so upset, she tried to help Mike.

"Jim, we thought that it was better for Kate, she wouldn't have been able to do anything out at sea so we didn't see the point in worrying her..."

Kate reached out and pulled on Jim's arm.

"It's ok..."

He spun round.

"No, it's not Kate!"

Kate looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him not to make things worse.

"Jim, we need to keep calm..."

Jim let out a frustrated grunt and gave her a spiteful look.

"Sure, why should I worry, it's not like she's my daughter or anything..."

He walked out of Maxine's office and slammed the door, Maxine was now completely lost, she glanced at Mike and then at Kate. Kate burst into tears, Mike tried to comfort her, he pulled her in to his embrace, she sobbed in his arms. Jim was standing outside the office, he had stopped himself from leaving, he was confused about all of his feelings but he knew he was being irrational, he wanted to go back in and apologise. He peered thought Maxine's window and saw Mike comforting Kate. He swore this time he wasn't going to give up, but seeing them hug brought back all the old memories. He didn't know whether Kate and Mike would ever be truly over and he didn't know if he could go through this again. He took a deep breath in and walked out of Navcom.

Back inside Maxine's office Kate tried to compose herself, Maxine handed her a box of tissues.

"So, Mike had a feeling that someone involved in this weapons ring has taken her..."

Kate wiped the constant flow of tears from her face.

"How does that make sense?"

Mike tried to explain without implicating Jim.

"Well the first guy, Harry, he referenced Jim and Madelaine and we checked Kate, Madelaine's out."

Kate stood up shocked.

"What?! How?!"

Maxine handed Kate an internal security report, Kate skimmed it and frowned.

"They were keeping it on the DL, highest security clearance, it was a stuff up."

Mike scoffed, not believing it.

"Yeah, that's what they're saying..."

Kate chucked the report back on the desk.

"So you're saying Madelaine took her? But it doesn't make sense, why would she target me?"

Maxine paused for a moment, she didn't want to upset her more but she had to give Kate all the information.

"Maybe she thought targeting you and Charlie would hurt Jim? Did you find anything else on the island?"

Kate sat trying to think.

"Ah, they said they found a camp with weapons, I emailed the photos to Navcom to see if they could enhance them for the serial numbers, see if they match have you heard anything?"

Maxine shook her head.

"I'll give the department a call in the morning. We're waiting to a rego check and ID at the car rental place. She picked her up from kindy, she had a fake ID claiming to be me and one of the new staff let Charlie go with her, she didn't have any reason not to. The break in at my house all makes sense now, she must have been looking to copy my ID."

Kate's voice was shakey, the reality of the situation was starting to sink in.

"So what? Shouldn't there have been a ransom demand or something? Why aren't we out there looking for her?"

Maxine tried to calm her.

"The police are out looking, we were waiting for your intel to see if that was useful."

Kate put her head in her hands.

"So what? We just wait? We could go back and do a better search of the island?"

Maxine didn't really have a solution or a plan but she knew that she shouldn't be out there.

"Kate, I don't know if that's the best idea..."

"Maxine, I need to do something!"

Mike jumped up.

"I'm going too..."

Maxine stood up trying to control the conversation.

"Wait! No one has authorised anything and Mike you know I can't let you do that!"

He leant over her desk.

"Max, you can let me go out there or I'll go out there as a civilian..."

Maxine rolled her eyes, Kate interrupted.

"Maxine, WE will be going back out there whether it's with the Navy or without. Anyway I'm owed a favour from this whole thing, I'm calling it in."

Maxine knew they weren't going to back down, but she did sympathise with them. She tried to reason with them.

"Do you expect me to lie to Fleet Command? You can't possibly think they'll authorise..."

Mike stepped toward her.

"Max, please, you let me go after Ryan that time. I could handle it then and I can handle it now and so can Kate."

Maxine hated Mike for playing the Ryan card but she probably would have done the same thing. She inhaled sharply.

"Fine!"

He gave her a quick hug and left the office, Kate hung back and sat down.

"Kate?"

She glanced up at Maxine and hesitated.

"Ah, you should probably know..."

She stopped, Maxine was Mike's friend, she was afraid of what she would think of her has her Boss little own as her friend, she was worried that she would lose all respect for her.

"Know what Kate?"

Maxine had a concerned look on her face. Kate didn't know if she could say it.

"Ah, Charlie... "

Maxine nodded along, she smiled trying to encourage her to talk.

"Jim is her biological father..."

Maxine's jaw dropped.

"I don't know what to say...does Mike..."

Kate nodded.

"Yeah, we decided to..."

Kate held back her tears.

"It's ok Kate..."

Maxine had so many questions, none of them really appropriate for work. Kate could see she wanted to know more, she tried to change the direction of the conversation.

"But anyway, there's no way Madelaine would know that, so perhaps your theory is right. I mean with all the press, surely she would have seen we were together..."

Maxine sat back down.

"So why tell me now?"

Kate struggled to make eye contact.

"I guess it was more if anything happened to any of us, I felt like you had to know..."

Maxine sat there still in a bit of shock, Kate got up and headed for the door. Maxine snapped back into work mode as the phone rang.

"Maxine White...Ah yes, ok but..."

She put her hand over the speaker.

"Kate, hang on."

She hovered impatiently around the door, Maxine pointed to the chair in front of the desk, Kate sat anxious, she didn't really want to discuss it anymore. Maxine hung up the phone.

"Ma'am, I don't really want to go into all the details."

Maxine shook her head slightly and leant on her desk.

"Kate, that was the AFP..."

Kate looked confused.

"Yeah?!"

Maxine exhaled loudly, why did she always have to deliver the bad news?

"They're saying Walters has spilled his guts, he's naming everyone involved for a deal."

Kate tilted her head slightly and frowned a little, not understanding Maxine's negative tone.

"Well that's good isn't it?!"

Maxine walked round and sat next to her.

"He's named Captain Roth..."

Kate stood up.

"That's ridiculous..."

Maxine stood up and reached out and placed her hand on Kate's arm.

"Kate, I need you to keep this to yourself, I know that's hard but look I personally don't believe it but..."

Kate closed her eyes, she was beyond stressed, they had already been through all of this, she couldn't believe it, she wouldn't.

"Kate, I'm telling you this as Commander of this mission but if you can't..."

"No Ma'am, I can deal with this. Maybe I can talk to Jim, try and find out something, anything."

Maxine nodded.

"Look, I don't believe it but just in case I'm wrong just don't be too obvious but I need you to be discreet."

Kate nodded and left.

Kate was driving home, her phone beeped, she pulled over and read the message, it was from Mike.

"Do you think we should go see Jim? I feel kind of bad, I can't imagine how he would be feeling..."

Kate sighed, she couldn't say anything to him about the accusations but he was right. Jim's world had just been turned upside down and he had no one to help him through it. She replied.

"I'll meet you at his house in 5."

Kate and Mike stood at Jim's door, Mike turned to Kate.

"You ready?"

Kate nodded and knocked on the door. She closed her eyes for a minute, she needed to still think of Jim as the love of her life, to push all the bad thoughts out of her head but still be cautious. Like Maxine she didn't believe Walters accusations but her daughter was missing if he did know anything she had to find out. They heard Jim call out.

"Who is it?"

Kate didn't answer, she knew if she did he probably wouldn't open the door. She heard the footsteps get closer, the door flung open.

"I said who is..."

He stopped mid sentence when he saw it was Kate and Mike.

"What do you want?"

Kate tried to reach out to touch him.

"Jim, are you ok?"

Jim walked away from the door.

"Yeah I'm fine Kate, my daughter, who I didn't know existed has been kidnapped..."

His tone was sarcastic, Kate gave Mike a look to say "This isn't going to be easy..."

Mike tried to reason with him.

"Jim, hate us all you want but you know we all need to work together to figure this out..."

Jim sat out on the deck, Mike and Kate followed and sat down. Kate dared to meet Jim's eyes.

"So are we gonna talk about this?"

Jim put his hand up to stop her.

"Kate, don't, let's just concentrate on getting Charlie home safe..."

He got up and went to the kitchen. Mike leant over to Kate.

"Did you talk to him?"

"He didn't want to discuss it on the boat which is fair enough, but I don't know if he will forgive me..."

Mike put his hand on hers.

"He will Kate, he loves you both..."

Jim walked back in with a drink, he took a big swig.

"So, what is the Navy doing about this?"

Kate cleared her throat.

"Ah, we're going back to the island..."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, so we get to the island, find the bad guys then what?"

Kate wasn't really sure.

"Ask them about Madelaine...I don't understand why they would take her if there were no demands, what if we're completely wrong and she was kidnapped by some random person?"

Mike shook his head.

"This took planning, fake IDs know names and times, this wasn't random, I think Maxine was right, that break in at her house wasn't a mistake, they may not have taken anything but they may have made copies..."

Jim sat down opposite them, he was still fuming about the whole situation but they needed to work together to find Charlie.

"Did they get anything out of the crew of that boat you found with the stash?"

Mike shook his head

"No, the captain, umm Samuel Walters said that he was paid to take them from the island to Australia. He said that he was just short of cash but the woman who paid his fits the description of Madelaine."

Jim sat there thinking. Kate's phone rang, she answered immediately and put it on speaker.

"Maxine, any news?"

"I'm sending you a video Kate, please keep calm..."

Kate hung up and waited, Jim and Mike gathered around her. Her phone vibrated, she pressed play, it was a video of Charlie. Kate put her hand over her mouth as tears streamed from her face.

"Daddy, help me please!"

Kate couldn't take it, she paused the video and passed the phone to Jim. She went into the lounge and sat down and hugged a pillow. Mike followed her while Jim stayed on the deck and continued to watch the video.

Mike sat next to her and put his arm around her.

"She'll be ok, we will find her and bring her home safe."

Kate looked up at Mike.

"We did this too her, she is there because of our job!"

Jim walked into the lounge.

"The Captain of the second boat, what was his name again?"

"Ah, Samuel Walters..."

Jim's face looked panicked.

"That's the surname of the new teacher at Charlie's kindy..."

Mike grabbed his phone and went though his wallet for the card of Snr Constable Watts. He dialled his number and walked out onto the deck.

Kate stood there and stared at Jim, she so desperately wanted to hug him, to feel safe in his embrace, for him to tell her that everything would be alright. When he said it she believe it but she couldn't help feeling a bit strange about it since he had been named by Samuel. Jim looked back at her noticing her strange gaze, they were startled as Mike ran back into the room.

"They're going to pick her up and question her, it could be just a coincidence..."

Jim shook his head.

"It's not, I can feel it..."

They 3 of them raced down to the police station, they burst through the door.

Snr Constable Watts greeted them at the counter.

"We're in the process of interviewing her. You were right, she is related to him, his sister."

Kate leant on the counter.

"Please I have to talk to her..."

Snr Constable Watts shook his head.

"I'm sorry I can't let you do that, just let us do our jobs. You probably shouldn't be here, I'll call you when I have any news."

Navcom.

Maxine stood in front of the 3 of them.

"They want a clear passage, they know we're on to them so they're looking for a way out."

Kate frowned.

"How do you know?"

Maxine sighed.

"We received another video..."

Maxine's mobile phone rang, she picked it up and walked out of the office.

Kate sat down on the verge of tears, she looked up at Mike.

"They're not going to give in to terrorist threats...what are we going to do?"

Mike didn't know what to say, nothing was going to comfort her.

Jim sat down and sighed.

"Maybe they'll allow a swap, me for her..."

They both look at him.

"Jim, what will that achieve?"

Jim shrugged.

"At least I know she will be safe, plus what have I got to lose?"

Jim went to look for Maxine, Kate attempted to stop him but he shrugged her off and kept walking. Kate looked at Mike.

"Can we let him do that?"

Mike shrugged.

"He is her father..."

Kate held Mike's hand.

"She has 2 fathers, Mike you will always be an important part of her life..."

The next morning, the crew were boarding the boat. They were surprised to see Mike and Jim. Nikki pulled Kate aside.

"Maxine approved this?!"

Kate looked a little guilty, it wasn't exactly approved but forced.

"They owed me one, anyway Mike would have gone out as a civilian..."

Nikki's glanced toward Mike and Jim who were heading down below.

"And everything is ok with them?"

Kate shook her head.

"We're concentrating on finding Charlie first, did Maxine send you the video?"

Nikki nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Kate..."

Kate blinked a few times trying to stop the tears.

"I haven't watched it all, I can't..."

Kate's eyes overflowed, Nikki gave her a hug.

"I'll go update the team, maybe you go check they haven't killed each other. Oh and don't worry I'll leave out Jim's part..."

Kate squeezed Nikki's arm and went down below, she knocked on the cabin door.

"We all ok in here?"

She cautiously entered the cabin, you could cut the tension with a knife.

"Sorry, it was sharing or someone was in austere..."

Mike looked back and smiled at Kate then at Jim.

"It's ok, we'll be fine! Right Jim?"

Jim stayed silent, he looked up at both of them then continued to unpack his bag. Kate tried to give Mike a reassuring look.

"Okay, I'll let you unpack then..."

Kate left. Mike chucked a pillow at Jim.

"Are you going to punish her forever?!"

Jim chucked the pillow back on the rack and shot a look at Mike.

"Ah, you're not exactly innocent in all this either, I'm pissed at you too!"

Mike turned to face Jim.

"Jim we stuffed up, we thought we were doing what's best for Charlie at the time..."

Jim shook his head and chucked his bag on the floor.

"Mike, I don't think you can really understand what I'm feeling."

"I'm not pretending too, but on the other hand I lived everyday if my life scared that she would find out and not love me as much as she does..."

Mike sat on his rack, Jim sighed and sat next to him.

"That's not possible..."

"Jim you love them both, Kate thinks she's pushed you to the limit, she's about to give up if you don't make some kind of peace offering..."

"I'm not ready Mike, anyway to be honest what do you care, if I bugger off you get your family back."

Mike scrunched up his face offended by Jim's comment.

"C'mon Jim, is that how you think I want things to be? You waited 5 years remember!"

Jim kicked the bag under the rack and stood above him.

"Tell me what kind of man raises someone else's daughter as his own?"

Mike sighed thinking of how he was supposed to explain, this was never supposed to be a malicious act.

"Jim, I don't want to sound like an asshole or a broken record but you were dead! I think we panicked when she called me Dad, well 'Dada'. We didn't know what to do. Can you not understand that this was only supposed to be our problem in the future. I'm not having a go but do you really think we would have done this if we knew you were ok?"

Jim knew that this was a screwed up situation and more than anything it was probably the shock that was making him so angry but he couldn't hear this, not right now. He left the cabin frustrated, he had so many things going on in his head. Life used to be so simple, but how can someone you love hurt you so much?

Bird knocked on Kate's cabin door. She entered with a piece of chocolate cake and a brew, she put it down on her desk. She looked at Kate's computer, the background was a picture of Charlie, Kate and Mike laughing.

"I know this is unorthodox Ma'am but..."

She gave Kate a big hug.

"So Nikki has briefed the team?!"

She stepped back and nodded.

"We're ready to go!"

Kate's cabin phone rang.

"HMAS Bundaberg Kate McGregor..."

Bird quietly left her cabin, Mike was walking past and heard her talking on the phone, he stopped and hovered around the door, it was slightly ajar.

"Kate, Samuel Walters has a tonne of inside information, it's not looking good..."

"But Ma'am you said you didn't believe it, I just can't believe he's that good of an actor, he can't be!"

Kate dropped her head and put the phone down for a minute. Mike peered in the door more, it creaked opened and startled Kate. She sun round and saw Mike and immediately picked up the phone.

"I'll call you back Ma'am."

She stood up and wiped the tears from her face, Mike entered and closed the door.

"Kate?"

Kate avoided Mike's concerned glance, she cleared her throat.

"What did you hear?"

Mike frowned knowing that something was wrong.

"I was passing and the door was open, what's going on, who's acting?"

Kate looked up at Mike, she couldn't lie to him about this anymore, especially if there was a chance that it was true. She sat on her rack.

"The second guy we got, Samuel Walters, he made a deal, he said he'd name everyone involved."

Mike sat next to Kate.

"Ok and?"

She couldn't look at him and say it, not after everything.

"He's named Jim..."

Mike face turned dark, enraged. He jumped up and headed for their cabin, Kate followed trying to stop him, she leapt in front of him.

"Mike, please you'll make things worse!"

He shoved passed her and burst into the cabin making Jim jump up from his rack. Mike shoved him against the cabin wall, Jim pushed him back.

"What the hell Flynn?"

Mike stepped closer to him, Jim could feel his anger. Mike clenched is fists beside him.

"I trusted you, I defended you! You look me in the eye and tell me it's not true!"

Jim glanced at Kate, she was on the verge of tears and looked frightened, he looked back at Mike.

"What?!"

Mike pushed him again.

"That you're not involved in this?!"

Jim pushed him backwards, Mike grabbed the front of his shirt, Kate tried to intervene, she put a hand on each of them.

"Jim, Samuel Walters has named you as a player in all of this!"

Jim's face dropped, he couldn't believe this was happening again. Mike noticed his reaction and left go of his shirt. Jim side stepped them both.

"Seriously, we have already been through this..."

Kate sighed.

"I know but he's got inside intel..."

Jim met Kate's eyes hoping she would believe him.

"Kate it's not me! I don't know what else I can do to prove it to you? I would do anything to save Charlie, I'm willing to trade place with her for god sake!"

Mike mumble under his breath.

"Yeah and that could be seen as trying to escape with them..."

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Well either way you get Charlie back..."

Kate looked at Mike.

"Mike..."

There was a knock on the door, Kate opened the door slightly, it was Harrison.

"Ah, everything okay Ma'am? I heard yelling..."

Kate nodded, she glanced back at Jim and Mike and exited the cabin. She was about to shut the door when Jim opened it and stormed out. Harrison looked at Kate apprehensively.

"Don't ask!"

She was about to walk off, he grabbed her arm.

"Oh umm Maxine is on the phone..."

Kate headed for her cabin, she took a deep breath in and picked up the phone.

"Maxine?"

"Kate, we have another video, I'm sending it through now."

Kate hung up the phone, Mike knocked on the door. Kate was concentrating on the video, he walked up behind her. The video had Charlie was tied up with an explosive vest on. Jim walked passed and hovered at the door. Kate turned around with tears in her eyes.

"Mike, our baby?!"

Mike put a hand on her shoulder.

"We will get her back safe! I promise!"

Kate put her head on her shoulder leaning on Mike's hand. Jim cleared his throat, they spun round.

"I want to talk to Maxine..."

Kate looked at Jim and then Mike, he entered the cabin and shut the door.  
Kate sighed.

"Jim, I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Kate, please just let me do this, she didn't listen before but I'm assuming she knows about the accusations so maybe she'll let me do it now."

Kate handed him the phone.

"Commander White, its Captain Roth...yes, she told me. I want to do a swap, I don't know how to convince anyone that I'm not a part of this. I just want her safe... please... thank you Ma'am. I promise you'll be convinced by the end of all this who's side I'm on."

Jim passed the phone back to Kate.

"She's wants to talk to you..."

Kate exhaled and put the phone up to her ear expecting to be met with a angry Maxine, there was silence.

"Ma'am?"

"Kate, I'm going to allow this, it will answer a lot of questions. At this point I don't see any other options...I'll talk to fleet command and call back with a plan."

Kate hung up and pressed play to watch the rest of the video. Mike and Jim stood behind her. Jim squinted at the video.

"She's on a boat..."

They turned back and looked at the video.

"Look at the background, that's a cabin... and watch, the camera it's moving..."

Kate ran out the cabin and up to the bridge.

"Nik, how many boats are on radar at the moment?"

They walked over to the radar.

"A few Ma'am, 10 but most are probably tourist boats, 5 are Australian flagged."

Mike and Jim walked up behind them, Kate turned to Mike.

"I don't know what we should target, they both seem just as likely... foreign vessels seem too obvious but they might not think we'd search Australian flagged vessels?"

"Well do them all...we have 2 RHIBS, Jim can lead one and I can lead the other."

Kate nodded.

"I'll let Maxine know what we're doing... Dutchy, Bird and 2Dads with Mike and Swain, Charge and Nikki with Jim..."

Out on deck the teams were getting geared up. Kate watched from a distance, she desperately wanted to let Jim know that she still cared, that she believed him. This whole situation was so complicated and the accusations didn't help. Jim was about to board the RHIB, Kate ran up to him and grabbed his arm. He stepped back down, she pulled him aside out of everyone's view. She slowly reached out and held his hand.

"Jim, please, be careful!"

He sighed and looked down at their intertwined hands, he gave hers a slight squeeze. Kate smiled, she took it as a sign of hope. He looked at her for a split second and went to board to RHIB, he still wasn't ready to forgive her. Kate left the deck. Jim walked up to Dutchy and whispered in his ear, he nodded and took off his helmet, he tapped one of the other crew on the shoulder and gave him his helmet.

Kate rang Maxine from her cabin.

"Ma'am, we're searching all boats in the area..."

"No worries Kate, at least it will look like business as usual for now. You should probably know that Celeste has confessed to letting Charlie go with Madelaine, she said that she would kill her bother is she didn't cooperate."

Kate took the phone away from her ear, she couldn't believe it, this was her plan from the beginning.

"Kate? Are you still there?"

"Oh, yes, sorry Ma'am."

"I know this is a lot Kate, you know I'm not thrilled that you're out there as it is so I need you to be honest with me, you have to tell me if you can't handle it."

"I can handle it Ma'am."

"Okay, so Celeste is saying she know nothing else about the plan, she insists her brother is just stupid and greedy, that's he's not a part of this, that's all we've got for the moment. Hopefully you find something else out there or you find them the island. I have spoken to fleet command, we will do the swap as a last resort after the search but we have to have a contingency plan to get Jim out, if he is innocent."

"Ma'am he is innocent..."

"Kate, you need to be objective about this..."

"Ma'am, I am!"

"Well either way we need him alive, I'll call you back soon."

Kate went and sat in her cabin, she needed a minute, she couldn't stand up there and watch them. There was a knock on the door, she got up and opened it slightly, it was Harrison.

"Oh, Harrison, what can I do for you?"

"Can I come in?"

Kate wasn't sure why he was still on the ship, she obliged and opened the cabin door. She sat at her desk, he shut the door and hovered for a moment.

"Harrison?"

He cleared his throat and sat down.

"You can call me Will Ma'am..."

She smiled slightly and tried to straighten herself out.

"Ah, shouldn't you be out with the rest of your team?"

He shook his head.

"Nah I'm the sub on this mission, still a bit banged up from the island..."

Kate was still perplexed as to why he was in her cabin.

"Right, well something I can help you with?"

"Ah, just checking you're okay?"

She made eye contact with him and paused for a moment, was it that obvious she wasn't coping? He could see she looked worried.

"Ma'am, I don't know you that well but Jim has told me a lot about you, I feel like I know you and... I know about Charlie."

Kate's eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat.

"Excuse me?"

He scooted his chair closer and leant in.

"I know she's Jim's..."

Kate swallowed hard, she was about to speak but he beat her too it.

"It's okay, I won't say anything but I just thought you should know I get it..."

Before she could say anything he gave her a smile and left the cabin.

Up on the Bridge RO heard a crackle coming over the radio, he called Kate in her cabin.

"Ma'am, we've got some chatter..."

Kate ran up to the bridge, she noticed Dutchy standing in the corner and looked at him funny, before she could ask what he was doing here RO handed her the radio.

"Ma'am, I think you should take this..."

"This is Commander McGregor on HMAS Bundaberg turn to VH channel 1-6, do you copy?"

A familiar voice came over the radio.

"Commander? Moving up in the world are we Kate?"

Kate immediately recognised the voice as Madelaine's.

"Madelaine, what do you want?"

"I thought I made it clear to your boss, we want free passage though Australian waters..."

"You know they won't agree to it..."

"I know the Navy won't, that's why I have the McGregor insurance policy... Say hello to Mummy..."

Charlies voice came over the radio.

"Mummy!?"

"Charlotte, are you ok?"

"She won't be if you don't let us go Kate, you know that I don't mess around! I know you have teams out searching for us..."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Call them back in and you can escort us out of Australian waters, do not follow us and then I will drop her off on an island..."

"You expect me to trust you?"

"Do you have a choice?"

"We have an option B, we swap Jim for Charlie."

Kate cursed in her mind, she knew it was supposed to be a last resort but she was getting desperate and there was no point in doing a search if they were on to them. She needed to do something now.

"Why do you think we want Captain Roth?"

Kate paused, maybe she could get her to deny Jim was working with them and it would put everyone's minds to rest.

"Well, he was the one who helped bring you down, you want revenge right? You're the one who leaked his name, why would you do that unless you wanted him to suffer."

"You're a smart one McGregor, just like your ex! Thought you upgraded huh? Look where it got you, a child with a terrorist..."

Kate's stomach dropped, how did she know Charlie was Jim's? And she had just done the opposite of what she had hoped she would do, confirmed that Jim was a traitor. She dropped the radio, the crew stood there in silence completely astonished at what they had just heard. Dutchy looked at Kate's blank expression and ushered all non personnel off the bridge. He didn't know how she was going to react but he knew she didn't need an audience.

Madelaine's voice came over the radio, Dutchy handed it back to Kate.

"Commander?"

Kate's face turned from a blank expression to one of fury.

"So you want him back? He's yours! I have one more question...why did you blow up Hammersley?"

Madelaine laughed.

"That wasn't me unfortunately, as much as I would have loved to destroy that boat it wasn't in my plan, that was all Harry. He was stupid but he had guts, he wanted the glory, he didn't see the bigger picture! If it wasn't for him you probably would have never heard from me. You can thank your dear Navy for boarding that boat, oh and your boyfriend for disturbing our camp. You guys just can't help sticking your nose in! Now, call them back in and escort us out else you will lose more things that you love..."

Kate dropped her head and picked up the radio again.

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91 and Zulu 91, return to the ship at the rush."

The phone rang, she picked it up.

"Maxine, Hi, did you catch all of that? What do you want me to do?"

"Kate, they want you to return to port, they want to suspend Captain Roth until this is sorted."

"Ma'am, we can't, we're so close and this is the only option."

"Kate, we also have to remember the cache of weapons they're carrying and the safety of the public."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I can't come back in, we can do the swap and the escort and try and take control from there...please just let us do this, if we don't we could lose Charlie and the weapons. Tell fleet command this is the only way..."

Kate hung up the phone and ran her hand through her hair, Dutchy walked up behind her.

"I'm with you Boss, whatever you need!"

Kate turned and smiled at him, her smiled then turned in to a frown.

"What are you doing here?"

Dutchy stepped closer.

"Captain Roth thought you might have needed umm..."

He knew if he said "someone to look after you." She would take it the wrong way.

'Ahh, support?"

Kate stood there thinking, she knew that it was supposed to be a kind gesture but she just didn't know what to believe anymore, he could have made him stay back as he was one of the strongest crew members. She didn't have time to process her thoughts as Mike and Jim rushed up to the stairs.

"Why'd you call us back? We had only searched 4 ships?"

She walked over to Mike and put a hand on his arm.

"Madelaine radioed."

Mike looked at Kate.

"And?"

"And I've spoken to Maxine, we are going ahead with the swap..."

Kate couldn't tell Mike that Madelaine had also confirmed Jim was involved, not after the way he reacted before.

"So what's the plan?"

Kate stood there with a blank look on her face, her brain was trying to process so much.

"Kate?"

Mike stood there dumbfounded at Kate's lack of response.

"Our daughter is out there with a terrorist, or are you forgetting that?"

Kate snapped back to reality and raised her voice.

"Of course I haven't, but I'm also trying to do my job Mike!"

The crew looked at one another, they didn't want to be witnesses to this.

Kate and Mike realised that their personal laundry was being aired in front of the crew, they left the bridge. Nikki took Jim aside.

"Umm, are you ok?"

Jim looked at her strangely, Nikki smiled trying to reassure him.

"Kate told me about Charlie and how you're..."

Jim stepped back.

"What?"

She put her hand on his arm.

"Jim, it's ok I won't say anything..."

Jim stormed off the bridge and down to Kate's cabin, he didn't bother knocking and barged in. Kate and Miked were already in a heated discussion, he interrupted them.

"So you waited nearly 2 weeks to tell me I was Charlie's father but you're happy just to tell you're XO within 5 minutes?"

Kate signalled a time out.

"Just wait a minute, I can only be yelled at by 1 person at a time..."

Jim shook his head and left the cabin. Mike continued to stare at Kate angrily, she sighed.

"What?"

"Charlotte... what's your plan?"

Kate shook her head.

"I don't know Mike, what's your plan?"

Mike sat down and put his head in his hands.

"We need to be able to swap Charlie but still somehow make sure Jim is safe..."

Kate stood there wondering if she should tell him Madelaine had also implicated him.

Nikki knocked on Kate's cabin.

"Boss, it's Madelaine..."

Kate and Mike rushed to the bridge.

"This is Commander McGregor."

'Commander, do we have a deal?"

"Yes..."

"Good, I will give you coordinates to meet us at. You are to stay at least 200m away at all times. I expect 1 RHIB to come along side, there will be eyes on the boat so if you try any funny business you know what happens."

"Let me speak to Charlie please..."

The radio went dead. Kate turned to address the team, she knew she should have excluded Jim but it was getting to hard, it would have been too obvious. If he was really on the other side it would give it away, she knew she was going to have to tell Mike.

"Right, we're gonna need all hands on deck for this, Harrison included."

Jim nodded and went to find him. Kate took the opportunity to pull Mike aside.

"Maxine wants an extraction plan for Jim, or better yet for us to get Charlie without having to let him go..."

Mike frowned.

"What?!"

"Either way Mike, we need him."

She sighed.

"If he's innocent we can't leave him there but if he's on their side..."

"Wait, I thought you trusted him, you said you thought he was innocent."

Kate looked at her feet, Mike looked at her disapprovingly. He stepped back from her as Jim and Harrison returned to the bridge. Kate cleared her throat.

"Ok, so I'm assuming they won't allow Charlie off first, Harrison I want you in a tender as a back-up. We can't use a RHIB as they will see 2 missing but I don't think they'll notice the tender, plus it's less likely to be seen on radar. We will off load the tender with Harrison before the meeting point. When the swap happens hopefully they'll be distracted enough with the swap that we can get Jim out. It'll be dark before we get to do the trade, Harrison I want you to wear civilian clothes, take some fishing gear, we're close enough to the island that we can pass you off as a fisherman if you're stopped."

The Bundaberg and Madelaine's vessel met at the coordinates. Kate grabbed the binoculars desperately trying to see if she could see Charlie but it was too dark.

Mike came over the radio.

"Charlie 91 to Papa 91, do you copy?"

Kate ran over to the radio.

"This is Papa 91 receiving..."

"We are approaching the cruiser, I can see Harrison in the background."

Kate held her breath, she couldn't see what was happening, she couldn't hear anything. A few minutes later Mike came over the radio.

"Papa 91 this is Charlie 91, we are stationary waiting for them to appear on deck."

The lights on the cruiser suddenly turned on. Madelaine came out on deck with Charlie and 2 of her crew. Charlie tried to struggle out of Madelaine's grip.

"Daddy!"

Madelaine pulled her back. Mike grabbed the radio.

"Papa 91, I have a visual of Charlie, repeat I have a visual."

Kate sighed a little, this wasn't over but her little girl was okay.

"Wait, she's wearing an explosive vest..."

Kate lifted the binoculars to her eyes and desperately tried to focus them. She took a sharp breath in as she saw her little girl on deck covered in explosives.

"We are initiating the transfer..."

The lights dimmed a little on the deck.

"Charlie 91 what happened to the lights?"

The crew waited patiently for any news, it was dead quiet. Seconds past, then minutes, nothing.

They heard a radio exchange.

"Charlie 91 to Zulu 91, assistance required immediately."

Everyone on the bridge froze as they heard gun shots, Kate picked up the radio.

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91, what is happening?"

"Charlie 91, we have her, were trying to disarm the vest..."

Kate held her breath for what felt like eternity. The radio crackled.

"Charlie 91 to Papa 91, it's ok, we're...Harrison what are you doing?! Jim! Watch out!"

The radio went dead. Kate's face when white, she frantically called over the radio,

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91, come in, over... Zulu 91, do you copy?

Static.

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91, come in over..."

She tried again.

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91 do you copy? Over."

Kate put the radio down and caught her breath. Bird walked over to her.

"Ma'am, I can continue if you like..."

She gave slight nod, Bird picked up the radio, she was about to call over the radio when Madelaine's boat exploded. It created a giant fire ball that lit up the sea and the sky, Kate stumbled backwards and began to shake uncontrollably. They scene replayed over and over in her mind, a dreaded feeling of déjà vu took over her. She knew that there wasn't a set up/plan behind this explosion, this was real life.

The entire crew were dazed, no one said anything. Kate sat back down in her chair, she picked up the radio but no words came out of her mouth. RO walked over to her and took it out of her hand.

"Papa 91 to Charlie 91..."

Static.

"Papa 91 to Zulu 91 do you copy?"

Static.

End of Chapter 9. Xx

Don't forget to review :)


	9. Chapter 9

Hey people!

We're nearly done on my longest fic yet!

Thanks to those who left feedback, much appreciated :)

I've just started to re watch from the beginning for some inspo and the more I watch the more annoyed I get at Mike haha (sorry to the MK fans) I'm feeling some Kate and Dutchy fics coming on haha.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure everyone is aware that I do not own the characters nor did I create them so please don't sue... lol

Charlotte

Chapter 9

RO repeated the radio calls over and over, the crew were silent. They jumped when a voice came over the radio.

"Sierra 91 to Papa 91, do you copy?"

Kate snatched the radio from RO.

"Papa 91 to Sierra 91, receiving, Swain, what is happening?"

"Ma'am, Mike and Jim ordered us off the boat. We have Madelaine Cruse in custody..."

"What do you mean ordered off the boat?"

"Ah, Madelaine had activated the vest; Jim was trying to diffuse it, I think one of the crew attacked them, they were on the boat when..."

Kate dropped the radio and closed her eyes, tears streamed down her cheeks. The sat phone rang, RO answered it and passed it to Kate.

"It's Maxine Ma'am..."

Kate took the phone and held it up to her ear.

"Kate, are you ok? Kate? The Kingston is steaming towards your position they should be about 30 minutes... Kate, did you hear me?"

Kate couldn't speak, RO took the phone from Kate's hand.

"Ah, Ma'am could you please repeat that..."

RO nodded at Maxine's orders.

Dutchy ordered the rest of the crew to launch the RHIBS and conduct a search, he turned on the flood lights on the outside of the ship. Swain and the others returned to the ship to put Madelaine and her crew in Austere, everyone but Swain returned to the search. He went up to the bridge to check on Kate, she was sitting in the captains chair staring at the burning debris

He squatted down next to her chair.

"Kate..."

Kate's face was expressionless, she didn't respond.

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kate, can you hear me?"

She swivelled round on the chair and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"They're gone, aren't they?"

Swain dropped eye contact, he knew the likelihood of any survivors was low, he decided it was better not to answer the question.

"We're looking for them now. C'mon we're anchored, why don't I make you a cuppa hey?"

Kate was almost in a comatose state. Swain left her where she was and went to make her a cup of tea. She walked out on to the deck too see if she could see anything, all she could see were the lights of the Kingston approaching.

She started to sob uncontrollably, she tried to compose herself multiple times as there would be visitors from the Kingston onboard soon but it was no use, the tears kept coming.

The Kingston arrived and joined in the search, Kate was in her cabin still trying to wrap her mind around the evening's events. She took a deep breath in and remembered that Madelaine was onboard. She walked to austere and opened the door, Madelaine was on the floor and restrained to one of the beds. Kate walked up to her with a blank expression on her face, she stopped in front of her and stared. Madelaine got up and sat on the bed, she made eye contact with her. Kate slapped her across the face, the force threw Madelaine's head to the side, she turned back to face Kate and laughed.

"Oh c'mon Commander, you can do better than that..."

She laughed in Kate's face, Kate moved closer and leant down, their faces were centimetres apart.

"You will pay for this, I swear to god I will make your life a living nightmare."

Madelaine was un-phased, she scoffed.

"It was worth it!"

Kate started to shake, her grief and rage took over. She lunged at Madelaine and began to slap and punch her.

"You killed my little girl! My family! I will kill you myself!"

Swain came running in and pulled Kate back.

"Kate! Kate! She's not worth it!"

Madelaine spat the blood out of her mouth and sat there smiling.

"Poor Kate, she's all alone! Look what the Navy has done to you! You didn't even believe the word of a man who was willing to risk his life for you, twice!"

Kate struggled out of Swain's grip.

"What are you saying? Jim was innocent?"

Madelaine smiled and said nothing, Kate took a step closer, Swain's hand was still wrapped around her arm, just in case.

"How did you know about Charlie then? All the inside information?"

Madelaine laughed an evil laugh, Kate lunged at her again, Swain dragged Kate out of austere. He slammed the door shut, he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Kate, please, don't lose your job over this! Mike and Jim wouldn't want this."

Swan lead her to the ward room, he sat her on the bench.

"Please, just wait here..."

Swain shut the door and left, she sat there with her knees up at her chest trying to convince herself that everything would be fine, that she didn't just lose her entire family.

There was a knock on the door, she didn't hear it though her sobs.

She looked up as the door opened, Mike walked into the room soaking wet, she leapt into his arms.

"Oh my god, you're alive."

She hugged him tight then held his face in her hands.

"Charlie?"

The door swung open and Charlie ran in.

"Mummy!"

Kate hugged her tight.

"Mummy, you're squeezing me too tight!"

She smiled and looked at them both.

"Where's Jim?"

She looked behind Mike expecting him to be there, Mike took a deep breath in.

"Kate..."

Kate looked at Mike's expression, tears started to stream down her cheeks once more, he didn't need to say anything, his face said it all. Bird walked past to check on them, Mike reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Can you take Charlie for a minute?"

Bird nodded, Mike turned to Charlie.

"Sweetie, why don't you go with Auntie Bird, she'll get you some new clothes and she can make you a hot chocolate."

Charlie nodded and left the cabin.

Kate sat back down in her chair, Mike sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"He was defusing the vest when Harrison pulled a gun on us..."

Kate looked shocked.

"Harrison?"

Mike nodded.

"He attacked us out of nowhere. Madelaine was distracted so the others were able to restrain her. We ran, Jim chucked Charlie on to the RHIB and ripped the vest off her and flung it at him. He was struggling with Harrison when he yelled for us to leave, I was already in the RHIB, I couldn't let Charlie... what was I supposed to do? We were only a few metres from it when..."

Kate lay down on the bench in the foetal position, Mike knelt down and put his hand on her knee.

"When we were going out there he said in case anything happened he wanted to tell me to tell you that he loves you and he understood why we did what we did..."

Kate began to cry hysterically, Mike tried to hug her to calm her down, she started to thrash out at him but he refused to let her go, he held her tighter as she sobbed. Swain knocked on the door, he handed Mike a glass of water and some tablets.

"If she needs them..."

Mike nodded, Swain left.

"Kate, here, take these..."

She shook her head.

"Please Kate, I'll bring the ship in..."

She sat up.

"No! We can't leave, not until we find..."

"Kate, I will take care of it, I promise, please just..."

He put the tablets in her hand, she reluctantly swallowed them and Mike led her to her rack. He left her cabin to go find Charlie, he walked into the mess and found her asleep on Birds lap. He smiled and nodded at her.

"Thanks!"

She mouthed "no problem", he shut the door and headed for the bridge.

He walked up the stairs and sat in the Captain's chair, Dutchy walked up behind him.

"Boss, do you want us back out there?"

"I promised Kate that we would find him and bring him home..."

"Boss, with all due respect, what do you expect to find? Let the Kingston complete the search, she needs to be at home."

Mike sighed, he knew Dutchy was right.

"Okay, take us home..."

Kate awoke with a jolt, the lights were bright, she squinted and rubbed her eyes. She saw a figure sitting in a chair next to her.

"Jim?"

She re focused her eyes, it was Mike. He pulled his chair closer.

"Kate..."

She sat up realising she wasn't on the ship, Mike touched her arm.

'Kate, it's ok, you're in the hospital."

She was confused.

"Why?"

"We thought it was best, for your own safety."

She sat there for a moment trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ah, what time is it?"

Mike looked at his watch.

"It's 1800..."

Kate didn't believe him, it meant she had been out for nearly 24 hours, she grabbed her phone to double check, tears started to well in her eyes.

"So you found him?"

Mike broke eye contact and looked at the floor.

"No..."

She was angry that he had gone against his word, she tried to get out of bed.

"Why aren't you still out there looking for him..."

Mike tried to hold her back.

"Kate, there may not be anything to find..."

Mike realised what he had said, she dropped back on to the bed.

"Where's Charlotte?"

"She's just in the cafeteria with a nurse...I'll go get her."

Minutes later Mike returned with Charlie, she ran up to the bed.

"Mummy! Are you ok? You slept for a long time?"

She nodded, trying to act as normal as possible. She patted the bed.

"Get up here and give me a hug! Are you ok? Did she hurt you?"

Charlie jumped on to the bed and gave Kate a hug.

"I'm fine Mummy, it was scary but I knew you, Daddy and Uncle Jim would find me!"

Charlie sat upright on the bed and tilted her head.

"Where is Uncle Jim?"

Kate looked at Charlie and tired to hold back the tears, she bushed the hair away from her face, she saw so much of Jim in her and it hurt so much.

"He had to go away again sweetie..."

"Where? Is he ok? He was on that boat..."

Charlie's worried face broke Kate's heart.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

Kate hugged Charlie tight.

"I know sweetie..."

She looked at Mike.

"I want to go home..."

"OK, I'll go speak to the doctor."

As Mike and Charlie exited the room she burst into tears, she didn't know how she was going to explain everything to Charlie. She tried to tidy herself as Maxine entered,

she sat at Kate's beside and put her hand on her arm. She glanced at her sympathetically, she didn't really know what to say.

"I'm so sorry Kate..."

Kate wiped the tears from her face, she didn't want more sympathy, she wanted answers.

"I don't understand Ma'am... Harrison attacked them?"

Maxine paused, Kate needed to rest and grieve, this wasn't the time to be discussing it.

"Kate, I don't think we need to go into this now, we will have a full debrief when you're ready."

"Ma'am, I need to know what happened, I need to know that this isn't my fault."

Maxine frowned, how could this be Kate's fault?

"Kate, this was absolutely not your fault!"

Kate rubbed her hands over her face.

"Max, he came back for me, he wouldn't have been on that boat if it wasn't for me..."

Maxine squeezed Kate's arm.

"Kate, this would have happened with or without you, Harrison was in this from the start, he was recruited by her years ago. She wanted finish what she had started and revenge on everyone that put her away..."

Kate looked confused.

"She told you this?"

Maxine shook her head.

"Harrison..."

Kate inhaled sharply.

"He's alive?"

Maxine nodded ever so slightly, she wished she hadn't mentioned his name. Kate started to get worked up.

"So you're telling me that Madelaine and Harrison survived and Jim's..."

She couldn't say it out loud, if she said it out loud it would be true.

Maxine stood up.

"I know, it's not fair Kate but if it's any consolation they will be locked up for the rest of their lives."

Kate shook her head.

"No, it's not, it should have been them..."

Mike stood in the doorway, Maxine glanced back at him.

"Get some rest, I'll talk to you soon..."

They entered Kate's house, she had been silent the whole car ride home. Mike carried a sleeping Charlie to her room and put her to bed. Kate sat on the couch, Mike came out of Charlie's room and sat next to her.

"Why don't you try and go to bed?"

Kate shook her head.

"I can't sleep, I need to know if they find anything..."

"Kate, please, I promise I will wake you if I hear anything...plus we're going to have to tell Charlie eventually, I think we need to do that together."

He handed Kate a prescription bottle.

"The doctor gave me these in case you need them. I'll sleep in the spare room tonight ok?"

She reluctantly took the bottle from Mike and headed to bed.

She stood at her bedside and took a tablet out of the bottle, she shook her head and put it back in the bottle and placed in on her bedside table and got into bed.

After tossing and turning for a few hours she finally drifted off to sleep but her nightmares took over. She saw the boat explode over and over again, she screamed and woke herself up, Mike ran into her room.

"Kate!"

She was breathing heavily and crying, he hugged her.

"I keep seeing the boat explode..."

He sighed and picked up the bottle beside her bed.

"Kate, please..."

She opened the bottle and swallowed a tablet. He lay next to her while she fell asleep. He heard his phone vibrate, he slowly got up so he didn't disturb Kate and tiptoed out to the lounge room, he answered the phone in a whisper.

"Mike Flynn..."

"Mike, it's Maxine, sorry it's late but I thought you should know I'm hearing that they might have found Jim, nothing 100% but..."

'Thanks Max, are they transporting him back to Australia?"

"Yeah, look I thought Kate should know any info we have ASAP, I'll let you know if I hear anything more..."

"Thanks Max, talk to you soon..."

As he hung up the phone Kate walked out of the bedroom.

"Hey! You should be in bed..."

Kate was unsteady on her feet.

"Was that Maxine? What did she say?"

Mike put his phone down on the table and walked over to Kate, he led her back to the bedroom.

"She said ahh, she thinks they have found him, they'll be bringing his body home but she doesn't know when, she said she'd keep us updated."

Kate lay down and closed her eyes.

"I can't believe this happened again... Mike, I don't know if I can deal with this..."

He kissed her on her forehead.

"We will deal with it together..."

He pulled the blanket over her and tucked her in.

Kate started to stir in the early hours of the morning, she felt terrible, groggy, she was drifting in and out of sleep. The sleeping tables and anti anxiety medication were causing her to have strange dreams all night. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing to clear her mind, she smiled as she saw Jim leaning over her.

"Katie, I love you so much..."

She reached out to touch his face but couldn't feel it.

"Jim, I love you too..."

"Katie, I'm sorry for all the time we lost, Charlie is so amazing..."

Kate became panicked as his image started to disappear.

"Jim! Please don't go!"

His face disappeared but she still heard him.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

Kate awoke, it was morning. She got up and walked out to the kitchen rubbing her face. Mike was sitting on the couch sipping a cup of coffee, he stood up and walked her to the couch. Kate sat there staring into space.

"I saw him Mike..."

He looked at her strangely, Kate shook her head slightly, she knew it sounded crazy.

"In my dreams..."

Mike put his arm around her.

"It's not uncommon, you're brain is trying to comprehend everything..."

Kate moved from his embrace and snuggled into the couch.

"It was just so real, he told me he wasn't going anywhere..."

Mike didn't want to give her false hope, he looked her in the eyes.

"Kate..."

She knew what he was going to say, she interrupted him.

"I know it sounds completely insane but I can feel him...have you heard anything from Maxine?"

Mike shook his head.

"Kate, maybe you should go see a..."

Kate shot an angry look at Mike,

"Don't say counsellor Mike, don't even..."

Mike moved closer to her.

"Kate, after everything you have been though..."

Kate got up off the couch and went into her room and slammed the door. Mike put his head in his hands, Charlie came out of her room and jumped on the couch.

"Where's Mummy?"

Mike pulled her close.

"She's resting, do you wanna watch Moana?"

She grinned and turned on the TV and sat on the floor.

Mike got off the couch and went into the kitchen to call Maxine.

"Mike?"

"Hi Max, any news on Jim?"

"Yesterday was a false alarm, it was one of Madelaine's crew, he had washed up on a nearby island. How's Kate?"

Mike sighed.

"She's having dreams about Jim, I think she's hanging on to hope that he's still alive..."

"Mike, sometime's hope is the only thing that gets you through..."

"Seriously Max, not you too. It's not healthy, we all saw the boat blow up, there's no way and indulging her is not going to help!"

"Mike, just go easy, I know you're trying to help but you've all been through a lot, just be there for your family."

Kate lay on her bed flicking through the photos on her phone, she began to feel drowsy and tucked herself in to bed, she fell asleep soon after. Hours later she woke up startled, she had had more dreams about Jim. She looked at her phone, it was the morning. She did a double take, there were 12 missed calls from Maxine and Navcom, she was about to call back when Charlie came running into the bedroom.

"Mummy, they found Uncle Jim..."

Kate sighed and lifted Charlie onto the bed.

"Yeah they did sweetie, where's Daddy? There's something we have to talk about..."

Charlie pulled on her hand.

"Not now mummy, he's making chocolate chip pancakes!"

Charlie ran out of the room, Kate sat there for a moment completely confused. She heard Charlie giggle, she immediately got up and chucked on her robe and ran into the kitchen. A man was standing at the stove with his back towards her, she blinked a few times trying to focus.

"Jim?"

End Chapter 9

Don't forget to review xx


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, this is it people, this is where it ends, the longest fic I've written so far.

Thanks to the people that gave feedback, really appreciate it.

This is probably the nicest one I've written about Mike, as I continue to re watch eps i get madder and madder at him haha. By that I mean that I'm portraying him in a nice light, even though he doesn't get his way he's there for Kate. I know that generally he would back off if she was with someone else but I think if something drastic happened, like in my fic, that he would do anything he could to be there to support her. I do acknowledge that my fics tend to have a bit of Mike bashing, I apologise for all my future ones too cos they'll probs be the same. LOL

Disclaimer: Don't own them, didn't create them else the series would have gone on forever and I would have ended it very differently lol.

Don't forget to let me know if you want me to continue writing my crazy fantasy stories haha.

From Chapter 9

"Not now mummy, he's making chocolate chip pancakes!"

Charlie ran out of the room, Kate sat there for a moment completely confused. She heard Charlie giggle, she immediately got up and chucked on her robe and ran into the kitchen. A man was standing at the stove with his back towards her, she blinked a few times trying to focus.

"Jim?"

Charlotte

Chapter 10

She shook her head trying to focus, she closed her eyes tight and whispered to herself.

"It's the sedatives, your mind is playing tricks on you Kate, you're grieving."

She opened her eyes and watched as he walked over to Charlie and handed her a plate of pancakes. Charlie smiled at her and walked to the couch, Kate backed away knocking into the table and sent a vase crashing on to the floor.

Mike ran out of the spare room rubbing his eyes.

"Kate? Everything..."

Mike's gaze was drawn to the man standing in the kitchen.

"Jim?"

Kate looked at Mike.

"You see him too?"

Mike nodded. Kate slowly walked up to him and reached out to touch him, her fingers gently touched his face. Her hand didn't pass thought it like in her dream, he was real. She took a breath in and leapt into his arms.

"You can't keep doing this to me!"

He swung her around and smiled and put her down. Kate pulled him in for a kiss.

"How are you here?"

"I jumped off the other side of the boat as it exploded, I must have been knocked out as I woke up on one of the neighbouring islands. They didn't have any phones so I had to wait for a tourist to come along so I could contact someone."

She hugged him again.

"The multiple calls from Maxine and Navcom now make sense."

Kate paused for a moment remembering his words to Mike.

"Ah Mike said that you said..."

He nodded and held her hand and looked into her eyes

"Kate, there are just some things in life you can't forgive..."

He had a serious tone in his voice, Kate dropped her head, waiting for him to let her go. He lifted her head with his hand and smiled.

"And I'd never forgive myself if I lost you again!"

Kate looked at him completely confused. Jim started to kneel down, Kate gasped and put her hand over her heart, she started to breathe erratically, Jim looked worried.

"Kate, are you ok?"

Before he could stand up, she feinted in his arms. Mike grabbed his phone and called an ambulance.

Cairns Hospital.

Kate awoke and sat straight up in the bed, she looked around, Jim was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Kate sighed with relief, it wasn't a dream.

"What happened?"

Jim laughed.

"Ah, I was in the middle of proposing and you feinted..."

Kate looked at her left hand, she laughed seeing the ring on her finger and raised an eyebrow at Jim.

"I thought you said you were in the middle of proposing..."

He smirked and kissed her.

"I wasn't taking no for an answer..."

She laughed then tears started to stream from her eyes. Jim sat on the side of her bed and hugged her.

"Hey, what's the matter..."

"I knew you were alive!"

Jim kissed her on the forehead.

"I wasn't losing you a second time! It's gonna take more than a bomb, well 2 actually..."

Kate sighed and looked up at him.

"Jim, about Charlie..."

Jim pulled her in close and gave her a squeeze.

"Kate, it's ok, we will figure it out. If dying for the second time has taught me anything it's that we don't have time to hold grudges. I know you didn't expect me to come back, it was just a huge shock and I guess I was mad at myself for not coming back sooner because could have met her earlier."

Kate smiled and put her hand on his.

"Jim, we have both made mistakes...but we've got the rest of our lives to figure them out together. I love you so much!"

He brushed the hair away from her face.

"Love you more!"

Kate laughed and punched him on the arm. Jim looked hurt

"Oww!"

She had a stern look on her face.

"That's for leaving me again!"

They were interrupted as the doctor came into the room.

"Kate, how you feeling?"

"Ah fine, starving actually!"

He laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds about right?"

Jim and Kate looked at the doctor with a confused look on their faces. The doctor looked at Kate's chart then back at them.

"Congratulations, you're pregnant..."

Jim's house.

Charlie sat at the end of the Moana decorated table, Mike and Jim were either side of her. Her eyes lit up as Kate brought over her cake. Everyone began to sing "Happy Birthday." She eagerly blew out the candles and squeezed her eyes closed making a wish.

Kate leant in.

"What did you wish for?"

Charlie shook her head.

"I can't tell you mummy, else it won't come true!"

"Yeah you can! Mum's don't count?"

Charlie put her hand up to whisper into Kate's ear.

"I wished for a baby brother or sister!"

Kate looked at Jim and laughed.

"What did she wish for?"

Kate laughed again.

"A baby brother or sister..."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Should we tell her?"

Kate nodded and leant down to Charlie and whispered in her ear. Charlie screamed with excitement, everyone was startled and turned to face her. Jim nudged her.

"You can tell everyone!"

Charlie stood on the chair and yelled at the top of her voice.

"Hey everyone, guess what!? I'm gonna be a big sister! This is the best, birthday, ever!"

Charlie jumped off the chair and ran around the room checking that everyone had heard her.

Mike hugged Kate and Jim.

"Congratulations..."

Kate was dragged away by Bird and Maxine.

Jim and Mike sat down, he noticed Mike's body language change, he cleared his throat.

"Listen Mike, it goes without saying but just in case you don't know, you know that you'll always be part of this family right?"

Mike was grateful of Jim's gesture, he knew it wasn't their intention to make him feel on the outer.

"I know..."

"And I don't know if I ever said how much appreciated you looking after them while I was away. If I didn't make it, I couldn't think of anyone better to look after my girls."

They looked over to Kate and Charlie who were on the karaoke machine singing the Moana theme song, they both laughed.

Mike tried lighten the mood.

"God, when did this get so serious? So umm, do you know what you're having?"

Jim grinned ear to ear and nodded.

"A girl..."

Mike laughed and hit him on the shoulder.

"Ah, now I know why you want me around!"

Jim had no idea what he was implying. Mike laughed seeing the serious look on Jim's face.

"You're gonna need back up! You'll be out numbered 3 to 1!"

They both laughed.

Kate walked up behind them and put her head between them.

"What are you two whispering about?"

Jim looked at Mike and patted him on the back.

"Nothing, secret dads business, right Mike?"

Mike smiled and nodded in agreement, Kate rolled her eyes and put plates of cake in front of them. They clinked their glasses together.

There was a knock on the door, Kate looked at Jim.

"Who could that be?"

Jim smiled and got up and answered it.

They heard a scream then a laugh, Kate peered over to the door, she saw a woman hugging Jim. The woman was about her age, attractive with long brown hair. Jim lead her inside, Mike looked over at Kate who shrugged. Jim cleared his throat to introduce her.

"Ah everyone, this is Daphne, my sister! Daphne this is everyone!"

She smiled and bee-lined for Kate, she hugged her.

"Kate! It's so good to finally meet you!"

"Likewise!"

She laughed and glanced at Jim.

"You know I nearly had to kill him myself! He never bloody shut up about you!"

Kate blushed. Daphne looked in Mike's direction and looked him up and down.

"And you must be Mike?"

He was surprised she knew who he was, he nodded and put out his hand to shake hers. She laughed and hugged him.

"I've heard a lot about you Mike."

She smiled sweetly.

"Now where is my niece?"

Kate called out for Charlie, she came running towards them and Mike scooped her up and put her on his hip.

"Charlie, this is your Auntie Daphne..."

Charlie waived.

"Are you in the Navy like Auntie Bird?"

She shook her head.

"No..."

Charlie looked disappointed.

"But all my Aunties and Uncles are in the Navy!"

Daphne laughed.

"No, I'm in the Army, kind of like what Jim does..."

Charlie grinned.

"Oh, like the Navy with no boats?"

They all laughed. Mike put Charlie back down, Jim looked at Kate and smiled.

"Ah Mike, why don't you find Dee a drink?"

He winked at Mike, Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Smooth big brother! You never stop embarrassing me!"

Daphne grabbed Mike's arm.

"C'mon Commander, introduce me to everyone!"

Kate nudged Jim as he smiled at his handy work.

"Did you plan this?"

Jim crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I want to see him happy ok? He deserves it!"

They looked over to Mike and Daphne who were laughing over drinks.

"She's a lot like you! I think they'll get along fine!"

Kate gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You really are a big softy aren't you?"

6 Months later.

Kate was sitting at her desk writing yet another press release, Charlie burst to her office.

"Hey sweetie, how was your first day of school?"

She jumped on to her lap and rubbed her now rather large pregnant belly. Jim walked into her office panting, she looked up, Jim sat down next to her trying to catch his breath.

"She's fast!"

Kate laughed.

"A 5 year old out running an SAS captain, that's not a good look!"

Charlie tapped Kate on the shoulder.

"Look Mummy, I drew a picture, it's a family tree!"

Kate and Jim looked at the picture and smiled. Mike knocked on the door and popped his head in.

"I just wanted to see how my girl's first day was?"

Charlie spun round with a huge smile on her face.

"It was great!"

Kate held up the picture.

"They did a family tree..."

Mike felt a bit sick, he walked into the office and took the picture from Kate and looked at it. Charlie walked over to Mike and tugged on his pants.

"Don't you like it?"

A tear escaped his eye, he knelt down next to her and Charlie sat on his knee. They both looked at the picture, he kissed the top of her head and looked at Jim and Kate, they smiled.

Drawn on the page was a tree with characters on it. There was a woman in a white uniform and a man in a beige and camo uniform holding hands, above them was written – 'Kate – Mummy' and 'Jim - Dad'. Then there was man in a blue/grey camo uniform his title was 'Mike - Daddy' and he was holding the hand of a woman with brown hair in a beige/camo uniform and above her head was 'Auntie Dee'.

"Charlie, I think this is the best family tree ever!"

Mike pointed at the grey rectangle in the corner of tree with faces on it.

"What's that sweetie?"

Charlie pointed at the grey rectangle.

"That's Hammersley!"

She then pointed at the faces.

"And that's Uncle Dutchy and Uncle Chris and Auntie Bird and..."

Kate laughed.

"Ah, I think you were only supposed to put family on there..."

Charlie scrunched up her face and looked confused.

"But Mummy, they are family..."

Kate smiled at the lovable thought.

"Come here!"

Charlie ran to Kate and hugged her.

"You're right, they are family."

She leant towards Jim and Mike and whispered.

"But I bet the teacher is super confused!"

They all laughed, Jim cleared his throat.

"Are you going to tell them what else happened?"

Charlie buried her head in Kate's chest.

"No!"

Kate grabbed Charlie by the shoulders.

"Charlotte James, please tell me you're not in trouble on your first day?"

Charlie rolled her eyes.

"I got in trouble cos I yelled at someone..."

Mike walked over to Charlie.

"Why did you yell at them?"

Charlie looked at Mike.

"Because they were teasing me, they said I couldn't have 2 daddies...am I in trouble?"

Mike knelt next to her.

"It depends, what did you say next?"

Charlie put her hands on her hips.

"I said they were just jealous cos I have 2 daddies and they don't!"

Kate, Jim and Mike looked at each other not knowing how to respond, Kate shrugged.

"She's probably right!"

Charlie grabbed the tablet off the desk and hopped off Kate's lap.

"I know I'm right!"

Jim couldn't help but laugh, Mike tapped him on the arm.

"Remember Jim, 3 to 1, and they'll all have that attitude!"

Kate playfully whacked them simultaneously on the chest. Mike laughed at Jim's petrified face, a smile grew on Jim's face.

"But you're still my back up though right?"

The End.

Thanks for reading everyone! Please let me know what you thought! Xx


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